Kamla tells Manning set election date, says liberation day is coming

Kamla Persad-Bissessar called on Prime Minister Patrick Manning Thursday to immediately name the date for a general election. And the leader of the United National Congress (UNC) proclaimed that "liberation day is coming!"

Persad-Bissessar spoke with reporters following Manning's decision earlier in the day to ask President Max Richards to dissolve Parliament in advance of a general election. The 9th Parliament will stand dissolved at midnight, two and a half years earlier than it is constitutionally due.

Under the provisions of the constitution an election must be held within three months, making July 8 the latest possible date for the vote.

Manning moved to shut down Parliament on the eve of a crucial debate on an opposition no confidence motion. Persad-Bissessar called it an act of cowardice. "This is the final surrender to pressure from inside and outside of his own party," the opposition leader stated.

She added, "This is an admission of his colossal failure." Persad-Bissessar said Manning showed that he was afraid to face the opposition and his own MPs who might have also voted against him. "He could not guarantee their support," she said.

She said now that he has effectively avoided the judgment of the members of Parliament he will have to face the judgment of the people. The opposition leader said all opposition members had been prepared to deal with Manning's failures but now they will be dealing with it publicly, every day until the election date.

She said instead of being a motion in the legislature, the people will pass a motion of no confidence in Manning and his government, which she described as one of the most corrupt in the history of independent Trinidad and Tobago.

Persad-Bissessar promised that during the campaign the opposition will present to the people all the evidence that amount to an indictment against the Manning regime.

The UNC leader said the people will hear all about UDeCOTT, the Abu Bakr affidavit, the church in Guanapo, the hated propery tax, the Trinidad and Tobago revenue Authority (TTRA), the inability of the PNM to deal with crime, failure to provide basic infrastructure, and the squandering of the nation's resources.

Sources in the UNC say the party has evidence that will connect Manning directly to the church in Guanapo and show links to UDeCOTT and the use of public funds for the project.

"The people are ready to make a judgment," she said, adding that when the 10th Parliament is convened there will be a UNC government in charge of the country's affairs.

She called on all opposition paarties, NGOs and civic group to join in a united front to remove the PNM from office and "Set the nation right again".

She acknowledged that "this will not be an easy victory" but said it will happen with the uniting of all opposition forces in a vigourous campaign against a regime that has failed the people in every way. "This is the beginning of the end of one of our darkest periods since independence," she said.

Persad-Bissessar appealed to every citizen to join the fight to restore good governance to the country and urged everyone over the age of 18 to register to vote.

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The UNC plans to launch its election campaign Monday at a meeting in the constituency of Point-a-Pierre.