Kamla Persad Bissessar told reporters Sunday the United National Congress (UNC) would contest 24 seats in the May 24 general election.The Movement for Social Justice would have two candidates, the Tobago Organisation for the People (TOP) would contest the two Tobago constituencies.
And the Congress of the People (COP) and the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) would share the rest.
The UNC leader didn't reveal details of which seats will be allocated to each member of the alliance because she didn't want people to hear of it from reports in the media.
She denied reports that Dookeran would be offered the presidency, explaining that it is "a constitutional arrangement and it is not ours to give away, to keep or to take."
There will be no vacancy for the President until at least 2012 when the five-year term of President Richards expires. Under the present constitution the president is elected from among nominees presented to an electoral college comprising all members of Parliament.
The united team will hold its first public meeting on Wednesday at Fyzabad's historic Charlie King Junction.
JYOTI sources say the formula for seat allocation was based on the result of the 2007 general election, with the UNC retaining the 15 seats it won and the eight in which it came second.
It also negotiated to contest one of the Diego Martin seats where it expects to run attorney Garvin Nicholas against the PNM's Colm Imbert, our sources say.
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At the PNM's Cunupia meeting the Prime Minister was energised and ebullient. He had his audience in rapt attention. One could hear the deafening silence. What is responsible for this sudden burst of confidence ? The entire meeting or most of it focussed on the problems with the unity of opposition parties and it's sustainability. The Prime Minister was at his oratorical best as he spoke without speaking notes. The Opposition will do well to study this speech carefully since its delivery and his body language was one of a person in a winning mode. Remember a composer hears melodies where no one else can find them, and even a bad speech with proper delivery will have capture.
Let me share some observations, and you can draw the appropriate inferences.
All speeches delivered by the Opposition speakers thus far have been a source of concern to me. The UNC meetings are no longer carrying excitement. The Panday mystique is still missing. Marabella with the choir of Verna and Lyndira, Rio Claro with Warner dwelling on Guinness and Puncheon giving the PNM that as a mantra;and St Augustine with Crazy, De Fosto and Orange Sky. All of this takes away from issues. It becomes another fete event. This was evident at St Augustine in particular where the crowd was large but the mood was sombre. Using chairs provides comfort but takes up space and give the impression of an unusually large crowd. People attending see this as fake.The Chairman spoke for almost an hour whereas the political leader spoke for 26 minutes. This disparity is sending the message that their is a struggle for supremacy. This has to be settled fast. Ever since the Diego Martin meeting the Chairman has been rambling of problems within the party and if he "is invited to speak at the next meeting etc.."
The major problem in the party is the Chairman and his inability to lead from where he is and not where he would like to be. This PROBLEM must be addressed NOW !. Closure needs to be brought to bear on this. The issue of corruption which is a major plank of this election cannot be dealt with by this Chairman who is the butt of daily ridicule on radio on allegations of corruption. This is hurting the party and its chances. The party needs someone like Maharaj who is known to be a powerful and effective speaker in this regard. He has earned the legitimacy as a corruption buster.
The dual chairmanship at St Augustine was an insult to the country and to the party's founders Panday, Ramnath, etc.. Suruj Rambachan was sacrificed for Garvin Nicholas and Khadijah Ameen. The latter just lost a UWI Guild elections, and does not have a track record. It is an insult to the founders of the party and the tens of thousands who still hold Mr Panday dear to their heart. If Vasant Bharath is sacrificied, I will support and campaign for an Independent candidate. Vasant's crime is that he said the backbenchers have a combined experience of 300 years and the party has acknowledge this robust experience. There is madness in the party and the Political Leader must also acknowledge that not because someone got elected on the executive means ipso facto they should be a nominee far less a candidate.
The party elections were only four months ago but Mr Panday is in the psyche of the nation. The old people will not come out and vote because they cannot vote for anyone else. They will not vote for anyone else !! The Peoples Democracy failed in December but we see pride of place being afforded to some of these renegades of 1978.
P.S Councillor Henry Awong from Tabaquite Talparo is advertised as a Speaker at the St Helena Meeting tomorow night. His claim to fame is that after local government work had to be done by MP Maharaj he is now on the bandwagon of well yuh know who. Umh. And if that eh good enough the Guardian headline below article does not carry the writers name. Is the Guardian peddling propaganda ?
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