Fellow Citizens, it is my pleasure to address you on behalf of the People’s Partnership on the eve of our general election.Tomorrow, our nation has a chance to make history. Ours is a proud and peaceful democracy. We have a history of peaceful change in government via the ballot.
Respect for the rule of law and for each other has been a hallmark of our electoral politics.
And it is my hope that this enviable record will be enhanced as we go to the polls tomorrow. I am confident that this proud tradition of peaceful change and transition will continue.
My brothers and sisters, we live in challenging times. The world around us is changing. To survive and prosper, we must respond to this changing world order with new ideas, new attitudes, new philosophies, and new models and systems of governance.
We cannot solve today’s problems with yesterday’s thinking. We cannot keep doing the same things and expect different results. A new vision is required to take us forward and to discover new solutions to age old problems that beset us all.
Trinidad and Tobago is in crisis. Law and order has broken down. Essential and basic services are sadly lacking. Too many still live below the poverty line. Our constitution has been undermined as several key institutions and positions have not been filled.
We are at the crossroads now. This is the night before the most momentous event perhaps in our nation’s history. What each of us decides to do tomorrow in the polling booth will determine what becomes of Trinidad and Tobago.
The sad state of affairs in our nation is all too familiar to us and over the past few weeks our party has shared these issues with you and identified a new way forward from what keeps this nation back.
The cancer of corruption is developing rapidly. And there is a growing disconnect between the people and its government. There is a sense of growing apathy as people feel they have no say in the governance of their country. That their government no longer looks after or even considers their concerns and needs.
The people feel their government has been taken away them. Tomorrow is your chance to change that and reclaim your government.
In the People’s Partnership, I have put together a formidable team that will initiate a rescue mission with your support, to put our beloved country back on track and move forward again.
Should you give us the opportunity to serve, I will install a new government with the right mix of people and talents. This talented team will reflect the diversity of our society. In the People’s Partnership government, there will be a place for everyone.
In breaking with the politics of the past and voting for change, our approach to governance will be different. Once elected, we shall serve ALL our people without exception. It is time we end the racial and ethnic politics of division and separation.
We must unite for the common good of all and in particular, a better future for all of our children. People should not be excluded from participating in governance based upon political affiliation, race, religion or gender.
All persons must, to the extent of their capacity, contribute to the institutions of national life with opportunity for advancement on the basis of recognition of merit, ability and integrity.
I promise a transparent, equitable and people-centred government in which each of you can participate. We will ensure an equitable distribution of state resources. We shall retain and improve existing social programmes.
As a government of the people we will look to expand these social initiatives, contributing more to them by simply getting the government’s priorities right and placing the nation’s finances where it helps citizens most.
Special attention will be given to crime reduction. Personal and national security is not a privilege, it is your right, enshrined in our constitution. We have the political will, compassion and capability of making Trinidad and Tobago safe again.
Nothing can be of greater importance and your new government will ensure that creating a safe nation is our number one priority. We will place particular emphasis on criminal justice, health care reform and protection of the poor and vulnerable in our society.
There will be new laws to protect women, the elderly and children. Recognising that there are so many groups doing their best in assisting with the social problems of our nation, a People’s Partnership government will provide greater assistance to NGO’s so that they can better fulfil their noble missions of service.
This partnership will fast track the changes we all yearn for in our society.
Our forefathers who came to Trinidad and Tobago toiled and endured, but in the process bonded with this new land. That is why I love the opening line from our anthem, which reminds us that our nation was “FORGED FROM THE LOVE OF LIBERTY.”
For as a people, it was our love for liberty and freedom that united us. Once we were free, we could build a paradise in our new home, mother Trinidad and Tobago.
Tomorrow, the hope of an entire nation must rise and as one people we must stand together for change. We must vote our hopes, not our fears. We must vote with our future squarely in sight – the future of our children and their children.
We must choose the Trinidad and Tobago we want them to live in – the Trinidad and Tobago we want them to inherit. As a people, we have already realized that our needs and wants, our dreams and hopes are not that different from each other.
We have realized that our current politics is creating division, resentment and discrimination, instead of healing, our nation’s pressing social wounds.
As strangers of the past, we became part of our cherished friends and family today, and so our search for a new politics begun. And with your vote tomorrow, we can start fresh. As my brother Winston Dookeran would put it, “it’s time to get our politics right”
Tomorrow, we can vote to either change the course of our political history or preserve the failing status quo.
Over these past months, we have walked together, talked together, and shared our stories of struggles and hardships. We have talked about our hopes and dreams for ourselves, for our families and for our beloved nation.
The time has come to put an end to the politics that would divide us as a nation just to win an election. We deserve better. But we must choose better. And that’s the opportunity we have tomorrow.
When voting, put the X by the UNC, COP or TOP candidate. That’s how we elect the People’s Partnership. That’s how we vote for change.
TOGETHER, there is no obstacle that we can't overcome. TOGETHER, there is no destiny that we cannot fulfill. TOGETHER, there is no dream that we cannot realize.
The time for change is NOW, my brothers and sisters. I ask you to TRUST me, take my hand, and let us complete this journey together for a better nation. Now is the time for us to put people before party; principle before politics and country before self.
Change is difficult, but I promise you that I will be a leader of a government for ALL our people, and that we shall govern honestly and competently, with compassion and love for everyone.
The decline and disintegration of our nation will continue unless we unite for the sake of our children and their future.
When you vote on Monday, think of the safety and security of your family.
And someday, when they talk about this election, they will say that a group of courageous men and women came together and grasped the reins of this country to steer it back on track. History will show that we rescued our nation and pulled it back from the edge. That our action prevented a monumental collapse.
Years from now generations will thank us for establishing a strong platform from which they were able to build. A platform that showed us how to build a safer, more caring, more productive, cleaner, happier, world class Trinidad and Tobago.
But it’s up to us. It’s in our hands. We must not wake up Tuesday morning having seen this opportunity slip through our fingers. So believe with me.
Believe in yourself…and in what we can do together… As the sun rises tomorrow morning, so must the hopes and dreams of all our citizens. And as you place your ballot remember yours is the responsibility to answer the inspiring and hopeful prayer of our nation to greet the dawn of a new day, a new way forward.
As a party, we have done all we possibly can, the rest is left in the hands of God and the people of our great nation. On behalf of the People’s Partnership, may I humbly thank you for your support and inspiration.
God bless all of you And God bless our beloved Trinidad and Tobago.
Editor's note: This speech is made available as a public service. It was provided unsolicited by the People's Partnership. We do not have access to the speech by Prime Minister Patrick Manning on Sunday, hence the reason why it is not published.
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