A report in the Trinidad Guardian Wednesday states that attorney Ricky Harnanan "has been mandated to pinpoint the requirements that Basdeo Panday would need to form another political party, and maintain his position as Leader of the Opposition".It attributes the information to "a well-placed informant".
JYOTI first reported in a column on January 31, 2010 that Panday could form a new party. But so far it has been unable to determine whether Panday or his allies have actually taken any decisive step in that direction.
And a report on a call-in show on Heritage Radio in Trinidad Wednesday afternoon suggested that the Guardian report is not factual.
Read the column: Column: Don't write off Panday yet; politics has its own morality JYOTI subsequently outlined the way Panday might go about forming a party and legitimately taking charge of the opposition without any support from the UNC membership.
Read the column: Column: Panday's control of the UNC is a betrayal of the people
Panday still has majority support in the opposition, thereby preventing the UNC's elected leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar from taking over the post of leader of the opposition.
If Panday goes ahead with any plan to form a new party MPs who support Panday could advise the Speaker of the House of Representatives that they have switched their allegiance from the UNC to the new party.
In that case the PNM would likely be facing three opposition parties in an election, causing a major split in the opposition vote.
In the 2007 general election the PNM fought two opposition parties and won a strong majority of 26 of the 41 seats in the House of Representatives, while the combined opposition got the higher number of votes and higher popular vote.
If Panday goes ahead with the creation of a new political party and keeps his support among the majority of opposition MPs his party would become the official opposition and he would keep the post of the leader of the opposition.
And it would all be legal and above board.
Such a move would see the UNC become the minority opposition party, leaving its leaders Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Jack Warner in the back benches.
UNC political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar is still working on a "peace plan" to get the support of a majority of MPs and take over the post of Leader of the Opposition.
UNC sources say Persad-Bissessar wants to settle the matter through negotiations, rather than adopting an hostile approach to bringing the MPs on board.
2 comments:
ybe this is what Panday meant by the UNC being destroyed within six months of a new and democratically elected executive is installed, this man continues in his own style of politics, I wonder if he has a mirror, if he does, I would humbly suggest he takes a long look at it.
THIS WAS DENIED ON RADIO HERITAGE. IT WAS ALSO STATED THAT THE ARICLE IS LIBELOUS.
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