The United National Congress is suggesting that one of the candidates for the internal election in January 24 internal has not been a UNC member long enough to qualify for running in the election.The party rules state that a member must be in good standing for at least one year before the election in order to qualify to be a candidate.
Speaking at a political meeting Friday, Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal stated that Sen. Lyndira Oudit lacks that pre-requisite.
Oudit is running against Moonilal for one of the three posts of deputy leader. Moonilal is on Panday's team while Oudit is supporting Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
Oudit denies Moonilal's claim. In an interview with JYOTI, she stated that she has been a life member since 2000 when she worked with Sadiq Baksh as an executive member of the Fernando West constituency.
He noted that she could not have been a member of the executive if she had not been a member. She said she also served two years ago with Sen. Wade Mark in the Pointe-a-Pierre constituency as a member of the executive.
Oudit said she had lost her membership card and Mark advised her to pay an additional $200 for a new life membership, which she did. Oudit said she has the financial records to prove it.
However, she said she noticed that the party deleted her name from the membership list after she endorsed Persad-Bissessar for leader.
Oudit said after she spoke about it publicly UNC membership chairman Kelvin Ramnath called her and reinstated her name. However he gave her a new membership number, dated March 2009, which did not reflect the true length of her membership.
"I have been a life member since 2000," she insisted.
Oudit has been a UNC Senator since February 3, 2009. She also served as a temporary senator on several occasions before that.
Although there is a precedent for the UNC to appoint Senators from outside the party, Oudit was appointed as a UNC Senator because she was a long standing member of the party.
In order to be a Senator for the party the person must be a financial member. Oudit said it seems that she was totally acceptable to the party and was well qualified to represent the UNC while she was supporting the political leader.
"The moment I exercised my right to make a decision based on what I consider right for my party and my country I suddenly became an outcast," she said.
Oudit said "this lack of democracy and tolerance for alternative views" in the party is a primary reason for deciding that it was time to change the leadership.
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