Panday ready to go "with dignity"

The leader of the United National Congress (UNC) is ready to go "with dignity" if UNC members reject him in Sunday's internal election in favour of one of the two challengers.

Tabaquite MP Ramesh L. Maharaj and Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar are running against him. It's the first time in the 20-year history of the party that he is fighting against anyone for the leadership.

In his final public meeting for Sunday's vote, Panday appealed to UNC members not to split the vote in the three-way race.

The real threat to his leadership appears to be from Persad-Bissessar who is getting widespread national support although the election will be decided by just over 34,000 UNC members.

Panday has concentrated his attacks on Persad-Bissessar, leaving Maharaj unscathed. And Maharaj has also targeted Persad-Bissesar while showering praise on Panday.

Speaking in Couva Friday night, Panday said, "I beg of you, do not live to regret as you did in November 2007 when you divided your votes and put the enemy in power," he said.

In that election the UNC won only 15 seats but Panday has always insisted that if the vote was not split between the UNC and the Congress of the People (COP) the UNC would have won government since the two opposition parties secured more than 50 per cent of the popular vote.

His appeal appears to be directed at supporters of Maharaj.

Panday remains confident of a victory, but he told supporters that he would accept their verdict on Sunday if they choose another leader.

"If you decide I shall go, I will go with dignity," he said.

There are serious concerns about whether Sunday's vote would be fair. Up to Saturday, the membership committee was fiddling with the voters list.

It admitted that it deleted 1,400 names from the list at the eleventh hour, saying it took the action because it was able to determine that the persons whose names were taken off the list were also members of the Congress of the People (COP).

Vice-chairman vasant Bharath, who is running against Jack Warner for the chairmanship, said there is nothing wrong with the action taken.

He told the Express newspaper that the party was able to verify that COP members were on the list by checking with a list from the other party.

The leader of COP has refused to hand over the names of members of his party, citing privacy issues, but the UNC has said it was able to obtain an authentic list from its sources, whom it did not name.

Membership chairman Kelvin Ramnath justified the move and said everything is in place for a free and fair vote.

Read more in the Express