PNM chooses Deyalsingh for St Joseph

PNM Senator Terrence Deyalsingh

The opposition People's National Movement has chosen Senator Terrence Deyalsingh as its candidate for the November 4 byelection in the St Joseph constitutuency.

The party made the announcement at a news conference Sunday. The PNM screened three candidates at its Balisier House headquarters on Sunday - Deyalsingh, former cabinet minister Mariano Browne and party activist Ronald Huggins.

Party chairman Franklin Khan told reporters Deyalsingh nomination still has to be ratified by the PNM's Central Executive Council, which meets Tuesday. This is a formality and Khan said there won't be any objections from the council.

Deyalsingh is one of the six PNM senators. He would have to resign his seat to run in the election but the party said it has not yet determined when that would happen.

Nomination day for the election is October 14. 

Om Lalla

The two other parties in the election have not announced a candidate. Jack Warner's Independent Liberal Party (ILP) has already decided who will be the candidate but has said it won't make that information public until nomination day. The speculation is that attorney Om Lalla would be the candidate but no one is confirming or denying it.

Lalla is one of Warner's lawyers and has also represented Crime Watch host Ian Alleyne.

The United National Congress (UNC), which held the seat, has not yet determined who will represent the party. There is speculation that Alleyne would be the candidate.

Ian Allenye

Warner told a polical meeting two weeks ago that the UNC has asked Alleyne to fight the seat but both Alleyne and the party have denied that. The other name that has been tossed around is Dr Carson Charles, who held the seat during the NAR administration and was a cabinet minister in the Robinson government.

Dr Carson Charles

The UNC's Herbert Volney won the St Joseph seat in the 2010 general election with 10,838 votes, defeating the incumbent PNM candidate, Kennedy Swaratsingh who received 7,778 votes. 

On November 4 it would be a three-party contest with the possibility that an independent candidate would also run. 

The ILP would likely takes votes from both the UNC and the PNM and have a strong chance of winning the seat. However there is no polling data to suggest what is really happening on the ground. Each party is confident that its candidate will win.