Confusion over who represents UNC women

The campaign for the internal election of the United National Congress (UNC) appears to be shifting from what the candidates are doing and saying to who is supporting the leadership contenders.

The support factor first arose on Sunday when 14 legislators signed a document stating that they unconditionally support the incumbent for the post of leader in the January 24, 2010 election.

Basdeo Panday is one of three candidates for the leadership. The others are Tabaquite MP Ramesh L. Maharaj and Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

On Monday, in a first sign of cracks in Panday's campaign Sen. Lyndira Oudit issued a statement saying she never agreed to sign any letter of support for Panday. In fact she endorsed Persad-Bissessar.

Then an unsigned statement from the UNC's National Women's Executive sent to the local media claimed that the party's women "unconditionally and unreservedly" support Panday for leader.

But four members of the executive rejected the statement as not being a bona fide document since they had not been consulted and never signed any such document.

In their statement, they endorsed Persad-Bissessar.

The women noted that executive members Senator Jennifer Jones-Kernahan and Oropouche West MP Mickela Panday had previously signed a statement endorsing Panday along with other legislators.

"They alone do not constitute a quorum and their endorsement is not based on any decision of our executive. We wish to state emphatically that we do not endorse Mr Panday as leader," the women said.

They added, "We wish to state that each of us fully supports Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar for UNC leader because, in our opinion, she is the best person to lead our party, to end the divisiveness, unite the opposition and beat the PNM in a general election."

In reaction to that the head of the Women's executive told the Trinidad Express the four executive members were not really "functioning" in their respective roles and "other women" were called in to do their work for them.

Jones-Kernahan said the Women’s Arm consists of thousands of women in the UNC who have a right to support whomever they wish, but added that "many women from a number of constituencies" have endorsed Panday and their preferred leader.

She said the release indicating support for Panday was issued based on "the support received and noted by the Women’s Arm".

UNC Deputy Chairman Jack Warner expressed concern about the statements from Jones-Kernahan.

In an interview with JYOTI Thursday morning he said it is alarming that four members of the executive could arbitrarily be discarded and replaced with others without a vote. "This is worse than a dictatorship," he said.

Warner questioned the basis on which Jones-Kernahan "callled in" others to serve. And he asked what method the women's arm used to survey the women in the UNC.

And while the controversy grows, Maharaj is also claiming support from UNC women. The Express quoted Maharaj's campaign secretary as claiming that "more and more people, especially women, are joining the Ramesh campaign....This is unprecedented and unforeseen but a welcomed shift in voting behaviour for the internal party elections.’’

Maharaj is abroad and is expected back in Trinidad on January 5, 2010. Panday is also away and will return home early in the new year.

Warner launches his campaign for the chairmanship on January 9, 2010.