("...with the greatest humility, I will stand as a candidate for the leadership of the United National Congress.”)In a brief address from her constituency office at Penal Junction, the Siparia MP said she agonized over the decision and was torn between loyalty for her “mentor and Guru, Basdeo Panday” and her obligations and duty to her constituents and the nation.
The announcement ended a week of intense lobbying by her supporters, friends and advisers who pushed her to take the plunge arguing that she has the best chance of winning against the incumbent, Basdeo Panday, uniting the opposition and defeating the People’s National Movement in a general election.
In her speech, carried live on national radio and television, Persad-Bissessar outlined some of the problems facing the country, blaming the Manning administration for neglect the nation.
“Our country is going through its darkest hour through the lack of good governance and disdain for you the people who live in fear, confined to self-imposed jails in your own homes while thugs, kidnappers, rapists, and murderers walk freely.
“The wealth of our nation is being plundered daily by a governing elite obsessed and intoxicated with power and delusions of greatness while you struggle to live off the crumbs.
“Our leaders can find more than two million dollars for a state banquet while tens of thousands of children go to sleep hungry every night; they can do this while hospitals lack beds and medicine and gangs fight for turf in our nation’s schools,” she said..
In a clearly focused address full of emotion, Persad-Bissessar spoke about difficult times when she felt discarded, but remained focused on her mission of service.
“My brothers and sisters, you all know all to well that I have been on floor before, but I remained loyal to our cause, remained focused on the vision and with your help, your faith in me I am here, standing again. And no one is ever going to keep me down again!" she said.
There was tension as more than once it seemed that she might endorse Panday.
“We have had a leader with vision and foresight in Mr Basdeo Panday. This is a man who led from his heart, with equality as his guiding light.
“This is the leader who recognized the value of women as we fought, and continue to fight, for the equal place we deserve in our nation, and in our world,” she said.
She described Panday as "the greatest leader" the country has ever had but then argued that the bickering in the party had reduced it to a poor shadow of its former self, incapable of undertaking its most important duty to the nation – defeating the People’s National Movement (PNM).
“Self interest and bickering have deformed us and restricted our ability to move forward and take on the most pressing task ahead – that of purging our nation of the PNM blight that has taken root, destroying our self-respect as a people, plundering our treasury and dividing us,” she stated.
“When there is a lack of leadership, society stands still. That is where we are today in Trinidad and Tobago. Now is the time to shake this nation out of its slumber. And to do it requires courageous, skillful leaders who can seize the opportunity to change things for the better,” the former attorney general declared.
And she rallied the troops to stand up with the UNC and rise against the evil that has taken root in the society.
“I am asking you to rise to the challenge of restoring our party to the greatness it once had.
"I am asking you to rise up with the UNC to show the PNM that it does not have a divine right to plunder and rape this nation and keep all our people in perpetual misery.
"I am asking you to rise up with the UNC to build a nation where gender, race, and class do not divide us,” she said.
She said her decision was the most difficult she has ever had to make, noting that the election on January 24 will be the most important in the UNC’s history.
“To run or not to run became the most difficult question to answer. I asked over and over again whether my duty was to personal and dear friendships or to our nation.
“Was it more important to maintain the status quo while mothers struggled to choose between medicine for their sick children and putting breakfast on the table?” she asked.
Persad-Bissessar said she questioned whether it was right to engage in battle with friends and political kinfolk and said there was one overriding issue that sealed the matter.
“The guiding principle that helped me arrive at a final decision was this: can we save this nation if I shut my eyes or looked the other way while Patrick Manning and his thugs continue to hold all of us to ransom, keeping us in perpetual fear,” she said.
“I said, Yes we can! And I am determined that we must! With your help, we’ll do it!"
Then she ended the tension and speculation.
“And so my dear friends, I am pleased to tell you, with the greatest humility, I will stand as a candidate for the leadership of the United National Congress.”
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