COP chairman refutes claim that party voted to leave PP government

The Express newspaper reported Wednesday that a majority of the national executive of the Congress of the People (COP) voted Monday night to ask the party to leave the People's Partnership government, citing sources at the meeting.

However in the same story the paper quoted COP's chairman Joseph Toney as contradicting the sources. "There was no vote, formal, informal or otherwise and you can quote me on that," Toney told the paper.

The Express story quoted its sources as saying that in an informal vote "five or six" members voted that the COP to stay with the coalition while "14 or 15" voted for COP to leave.

COP Leader Prakash Ramadhar has stated repeatedly that the party is committed to the coalition. There are six COP Members of Parliament, all of whom have cabinet posts.

Ramadhar is Minister of Legal Affairs and former COP leader Winston Dookeran is Minister of Foreign Affairs. Anil Roberts is Sports Minister, Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan is the Minister of Public Administration, Rodger Samuel is a Minister of State in the office of the Prime Minister and Lincoln Douglas is Tourism Minister.