Basdeo Panday announced on Monday that he will run for the leadership of the United National Congress (UNC), the political party he founded and has led since 1989 except for a brief period when Winston Dookeran was elected unopposed to lead the party.He told supporters in St Augustine he will also field a full list of candidates.
"I want to make an announcement tonight. You see on the 24th of January, I shall be contesting the elections in the UNC as the political leader of the party.
"And, I want to tell you something, I am going to have a slate also for you to elect an executive that I can work with...those who think or wishing that I will die or that I will commit political suicide, let me tell you here and now, I have no such inclination," he said.
Panday has been UNC leader for most of the party's 20 year history except for the period following the Oct. 02, 2005 internal election when Dookeran was acclaimed UNC leader and Panday assumed the chairmanship.
Dookeran quit in 2006 to form the Congress of the People (COP), which led to the UNC national executive (NATEX) appointing Panday as interim leader until fresh elections were held.
The long-overdue elections are scheduled for Jan. 24 next year. It is expected that the UNC national Assembly on Sunday will ratify the decision for the vote, which was made in October by the party's National Assembly.
At that assembly one UNC member identified only as Abdul told Panday to step aside and hand over the leadership of the party to deputy leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
Abdul made it clear that he didn't love Panday less but he loved the party and the country more and believed that Persad-Bissessar would be the best candidate to beat the governing People's National Movement (PNM) in Trinidad and Tobago.
Panday agreed to take the matter to the executive and for her part, Persad-Bissessar remained non-committal.
Read the story: UNC delegate tells Panday step aside and let Kamla lead
However a Facebook group has been formed to drum up support for Persad-Bissessar's leadership run and it has 395 members so far.
A scroll through the list shows Kelvin Ramnath, MP for Couva Couva, as one of the members of the online group.
Ramnath's loyalty to Panday goes back to the pre-UNC days of the United Labour Front (ULF). He is the only founding member of that party who has remained with Panday since 1976.
It is not clear if Ramnath himself has added his name or whether someone affiliated with him has done so.
Persad-Bissessar has not said if he would contest the leadership or any other post. The only executive member who has publicly expressed an interest in running for a post is Jack Warner, who is one of the party's three deputy leaders.
Warner has said he will run for the chairmanship.
The long-overdue elections are scheduled for Jan. 24 next year. It is expected that the UNC national Assembly on Sunday will ratify the decision for the vote, which was made in October by the party's National Assembly.
At that assembly one UNC member identified only as Abdul told Panday to step aside and hand over the leadership of the party to deputy leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
Abdul made it clear that he didn't love Panday less but he loved the party and the country more and believed that Persad-Bissessar would be the best candidate to beat the governing People's National Movement (PNM) in Trinidad and Tobago.
Panday agreed to take the matter to the executive and for her part, Persad-Bissessar remained non-committal.
Read the story: UNC delegate tells Panday step aside and let Kamla lead
However a Facebook group has been formed to drum up support for Persad-Bissessar's leadership run and it has 395 members so far.
A scroll through the list shows Kelvin Ramnath, MP for Couva Couva, as one of the members of the online group.
Ramnath's loyalty to Panday goes back to the pre-UNC days of the United Labour Front (ULF). He is the only founding member of that party who has remained with Panday since 1976.
It is not clear if Ramnath himself has added his name or whether someone affiliated with him has done so.
Persad-Bissessar has not said if he would contest the leadership or any other post. The only executive member who has publicly expressed an interest in running for a post is Jack Warner, who is one of the party's three deputy leaders.
Warner has said he will run for the chairmanship.
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