Revised UNC list doesn't account for defectors to COP

Despite all the hype of what is getting to be a heated campaign for the United National Congress (UNC) internal election on January 24, 2010 the reality is that only a few people will decide who leads the party.

This is not a national election and only financial UNC members can vote. The party had a list of 130,000 names on its original list, which has now been whittled down to 34,500.

And with only two days to go before registrations close it seems that only those on the revised list will be able to vote.

The party purged about 95,000 members after the split that saw many UNC supporters moving to COP.

Some members whose names have been deleted from the original list are demanding their right to vote and are questioning the right of the party to drop them. They claim that they never stopped being members of the UNC.

Chairman of the UNC membership committee, Kelvin Ramnath, is insisting that the new 2005 list will be the one that will determine who votes.

There are reports that the UNC officials are hoarding forms and trying to determine people's voting intentions before handout out membership forms.

Vice chairman Vasant Bharath denies that but has acknowledged that the party is rationing forms. He said people are getting a maximum of 50 forms with a promise that they would get more when they return the completed ones.

But party organisers are not happy with that especially with only hours to go before registration closes.

Bharath alleges that some people are demanding thousands of forms at a time. He calls that unrealistic and is sticking to the rationing arrangements.

UNC Deputy Leader Jack Warner has a team of people working 24/7 over the next two days trying to get as many registrations as possible. He has said he trusts UNC members to make the right decision and will work with the people they elect. Warner is running for the party's chairmanship.