 |
| New Chaguanas mayor Gopaul Boodhan gets a kiss from his wife, Shanti, after his inauguration Friday (Guardian photo) |
Councillors and aldermen elected Boodhan by secret ballot Friday afternoon. JYOTI sources say Boodhan got five votes. The candidate for the Independent Liberal Party (ILP), Indra Maharaj-Jaggessar, got two votes and the PNM's Ronald Heera got four. There was one spoiled ballot.
The composition of the council is:
- PNM - 3 councillors, 1 alderman
- UNC - 3 councillors, 1 alderman
- ILP - 2 councillors, 2 aldermen
On Wednesday when the council met for the mayoral election, ILP councillor, Faaiq Mohammed, voted against his party and supported the UNC nominee, Vandana Mohit, for the post of presiding officer. Mohit would have had an extra vote if needed to break a tie but it was not necessary.
Mohammed's surprise move led to bedlam and the meeting ended without a resolution when both the ILP and the PNM refused to agree on voting by secret ballot. The ILP accused its councillor of taking a hefty bribe from the UNC to go against the ILP's directive and the party expelled Mohammed.
The UNC has denied the charge and so far the ILP has not produced any evidence to support the allegations. Warner told reporters his proof came from two eyewitnesses who told him that a government minister visited Mohammed at his home.
The matter has taken an unsual turn with Mohammed now threatening a lawsuit against Warner for defamation. The 25-year old university student has sent a pre-action protocol letter to Warner demanding an unqualified apology for derogatory remarks made about him.
He is also asking for Warner to agree not to repeat the allegations. In addition he is asking for damages "to demonstrate the baselessness of the allegations and to compensate Mohammed for the injury to his reputation and distress caused by Warner’s statements”.
Read related TRINIDAD GUARDIAN story:
Faaiq casts deciding vote
The UNC has denied the charge and so far the ILP has not produced any evidence to support the allegations. Warner told reporters his proof came from two eyewitnesses who told him that a government minister visited Mohammed at his home.
The matter has taken an unsual turn with Mohammed now threatening a lawsuit against Warner for defamation. The 25-year old university student has sent a pre-action protocol letter to Warner demanding an unqualified apology for derogatory remarks made about him.
He is also asking for Warner to agree not to repeat the allegations. In addition he is asking for damages "to demonstrate the baselessness of the allegations and to compensate Mohammed for the injury to his reputation and distress caused by Warner’s statements”.
Read related TRINIDAD GUARDIAN story:
Faaiq casts deciding vote
No comments:
Post a Comment