Commentary: UNC election is Ramjack victory

It is no surprise that Ramesh Maharaj is challenging Basdeo Panday for the leadership of the United National Congress (UNC).

The former Attorney General has always seen it as his natural place as heir apparent although on every occasion that he has tried to claim his "rightful" place he has been rebuffed by Panday and the UNC establishment.

When he won the post of deputy leader in 2001, Panday refused to give him the respect the post carried and used people like Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Daphne Phillips to show him who is "boss".

Panday suffered for that that and lost his government while Maharaj remained banished from the party with the title of "neemakharam" plastered prominently on him by Panday and UNC supporters.

Maharaj had his revenge but never lost sight of the prize he sought, which is why he gladly returned to the UNC in 2007 and helped the party stage an amazing comeback when everyone had written off the party and already written its epitaph.

And when party insiders met two days after that election, it was Panday who handed Maharaj the position of parliamentary whip and gave him full responsibility for reorganizing the party and getting back to government. Jack Warner endorsed that and both he and Ramesh got to work trying to fix things.

And that's when the trouble started and led to the birth of Ramjack.

What Warner and Maharaj - and later Winston Peters - demanded from the party were internal elections, a shakeup of the establishment and critical changes to meet the challenges of the new political reality so that the UNC could return to government.

Panday and the rest of the UNC caucus and the national executive were content with maintaining the status quo. The "Ramjackers" decided they were not in politics to remain in opposition in perpertuity, so the two sides drifted apart, which led to the Movement for Change, which became a party within the party.

Now that Panday has called the election, it is clear that Ramjack has achieved its goal; its efforts were not in vain.

There is still a long way to go and there are many issues to address. But the UNC has finally answered the call for the election and for the party to respect the voices of its members.

And the UNC and Trinidad and Tobago must thank Ramjack for that.

Panday is obviously standing on shaky ground. No one in the history of the party has ever dared to face off against him and challenge him for the leadership. So Maharaj is making history in moving in that direction.

And Persad-Bissessar might do it too.

The test of democracy lies in whether the thousands of UNC members would decide to demand their right and choose a leader who can take them back to government.

What Warner and his team must do now is to encourage a healthy election campaign and stand firm for the principles on which they initially fought.

They must encourage the candidates tell the people what is wrong and how they can correct it. And they must tell the nation as well why they are best suited to lead.

Whatever happens on January 24, Ramjack must be ready to return to the task of building the party, uniting the opposition forces and taking on the People's National Movement and win.

Jai Parasram | Toronto, 4 Dec. 09