The run-up to next week’s Internal Elections in the UNC took a very unusual turn with the announcement from Khadijah Ameen that she is withdrawing her candidacy for Chairmanship of the Party.
The other two candidates are the current Deputy Political Leader MP Jack Warner and current Vice Chair MP Vasant Bharath.
However, the National Executive, in setting the rules for the internal elections, decided that members of the Elections Committee would be precluded from contesting the election by virtue of their office.
This is an accepted norm in all organizations since the Elections Committee shape and set the rules, receives nominations and are privy to information that the rank and file members (and in this case even NATEX Members and some candidates) are not privy to.
They must be able to maintain their independence and to ensure that not only must the process be fair, but also the integrity of the election must be upheld beyond scrutiny.
Therefore, the Chair of the Elections Committee must now reject the nomination papers of Senator Wade Mark, MP Vasant Bharath and Councillor Ramlochan Panchoo.
It is illegal, immoral and contrary to the very said rules that the Committee was mandated to follow. It is a serious conflict of interest and can lead to the elections results being overturned in the High Courts should any candidate decide to pursue this matter.
It is therefore imperative for the Chair of the elections committee to announce that based on the rules and regulations of the Elections as mandated by the National Executive, and based on the fact that by his very involvement as an active member of the Elections Committee,
Vasant Bharath, Wade Mark and Ramlochan Panchoo cannot be candidates in the upcoming election and hence their nomination papers are being rejected.
Interestingly, once the Chairman of the Election Committee decides to act in accordance with the very highest precedence of those who occupy the office that has been entrusted on to him, Jack Warner will be the only legitimate candidate for the post of Chairman and thus should be declared Chairman-elect by virtue of being unopposed.
On a personal note, it is clear that Panday is no longer “politically attractive’, that he cannot lead this Party forward and lack the integrity and moral decency to even be elected to any Executive, much less than being elected Political Leader.
I say to each and every voting member of the UNC to cast your vote for Kamla Persad Bissessar for your next Political Leader.
This election is far more important than the UNC as a political Party; this election will determine the destiny of Trinidad & Tobago.
You owe it to yourselves, your families and your country to ensure that Kamla Persad Bissessar and Jack Warner are voted as the new Leaders of the Party, and by this will transform as the soon to be leaders of the political directorate of Trinidad & Tobago.
Ancil Balfour | Barataria.
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