Opposition Members of Parliament who have been hostile to United National Congress (UNC) leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar are offering an olive as they seek nomination to run for the party again.They met Thursday at the office of Couva South MP Kelvin Ramnath shortly after the announcement that Parliament would be dissolved for a general election.
Former UNC leader Basdeo Panday, Ramnath, Tabaquite MP Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, Oropouche West MP Mickela Panday and Caroni Central MP Dr Hamza Rafeeq attended the meeting. Panday's brother, Subhas, was absent.
Ramnath told reporters he will seek the nomination for his constituency again, adding that the move is a gesture of his keen interest in mending fences and focussing ahead on the pending election. Panday, Maharaj, Rafeeq and Mickela plan to do the same.
Maharaj said he attended the meeting in Couva because it was meant to promote unity in the UNC. And he called on the people in his constituency to rally around him.
He said now is the time for the UNC to unite, adding that he hopes "good sense prevails because this is an occasion the country will never get again."
Ramnath and Maharaj urged UNC members to unite and speed up unity talks with the Congress of the People. Ramnath said he is ready to settle his differences with the leadership. And he said he is confident that the party can win the election "given the level of discontent in the population."
Panday admitted that he was suprised that Manning has decided on an election, calling the move irrational. Earlier in the week he called the election talk a bluff.
"I am still recovering from the shock and I would wait until I recoil then think about filing nomination," he told reporters.
Persad-Bissessar is on record as saying that the UNC constitution gives all party members, including incumbent MPs, the right to offer themselves for screening.
In a related development, Maharaj made denied that he had formed a new political party.
One television station in Trinidad announced Thursday that the former attorney general had registered a new party and invited people to comment on the matter. However, Maharaj denied that and indicated that he might take legal action against the station and its host.
1 comment:
ELECTIONS SHOULD CAUSE US TO WORRY
Let me share some sagely advice from Lee Kuan Yew - "The uncontrollable flood of good and bad on the Internet may nurture a generation that doesn't know the difference between right and wrong. The pornography and sadism on the Internet pose a threat to the young in all societies. ...Political chatter on the Internet may encourage more ... See Moredefiance, but is not as morally devastating as pornographic pictures."...
What comes first the state or the society ? This is what we must seriously consider. Elections which seek to put us in power can be very disruptive - traumatic and if not managed properly can rupture a society beyond repair. Elections are not something to get excited about. It is something that should cause to worry.
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