The announcement last Sunday by Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar that Dr Roodal Moonilal is the person that she would regard as her successor was a most interesting development.
According to press reports, the exact words of the Prime Minister were: “If anything should happen to me, God forbid, I see Dr Moonilal as being my successor.”
Whether Dr Moonilal was expecting such a comment to be made or not, it has put him in an awkward situation. In politics there are always political jealousies as ambitions are at stake. Nevertheless, Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar” ought to provide the warning to all politicians from the Prime Minister to the backbencher that friends and enemies are hard to discern at close range.
Neither Eric Williams nor Basdeo Panday in their various suggestions of resignation ever specified any direct preference for a successor, while Patrick Manning did not address the subject at all.
The question is why did Kamla Persad-Bissessar take the plunge?
One theory is that her recent attendance at the funeral of the late Prime Minister of Barbados, David Thompson, would have brought her face to face with her own mortality.
The smoothness of the Barbadian transition established for the world to see that this was a mature and stable democracy at work. Attorney General Freundel Stuart became Prime Minister Freundel Stuart in a matter of hours after Thompson’s death.
If, “God forbid” something like that were to happen right now to the People’s Partnership, would there be a smooth transition to a single unanimous leader? Perhaps not.
The reality is that the appointment of a Prime Minister lies exclusively within the sole discretion of the President and does not involve the people.
The aftermath of the death of Eric Williams still resonates today in terms of the choice that was made by President Ellis Clarke when he changed his mind that fateful night, according to him, and appointed George Chambers, one of three Deputy Political Leaders of the PNM, as Prime Minister.
If, “God forbid” something like that were to happen right now to the People’s Partnership, would there be a smooth transition to a single unanimous leader? Perhaps not.
The reality is that the appointment of a Prime Minister lies exclusively within the sole discretion of the President and does not involve the people.
The aftermath of the death of Eric Williams still resonates today in terms of the choice that was made by President Ellis Clarke when he changed his mind that fateful night, according to him, and appointed George Chambers, one of three Deputy Political Leaders of the PNM, as Prime Minister.
The other two deputy political leaders, Kamaluddin Mohammed and Errol Mahabir, were bypassed as the appointment lay within the “deliberate judgment” of the President.
The other dimension of the statement by Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar is who would take over leadership of the UNC. The way that the UNC elects its leaders is by the one person— one vote method of direct election.
This was introduced by Basdeo Panday when he was leader and it was the means by which he was removed.
The other dimension of the statement by Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar is who would take over leadership of the UNC. The way that the UNC elects its leaders is by the one person— one vote method of direct election.
This was introduced by Basdeo Panday when he was leader and it was the means by which he was removed.
The public preference of Kamla Persad-Bissessar for Dr Moonilal may carry some weight among UNC supporters who would have to vote in a leadership election. This would be favourable for Dr Moonilal who was the only person from the Basdeo Panday slate in the last UNC internal elections to be elected in his own right as one of the Deputy Political Leaders of the party.
In a UNC internal election, he would appear to be a favourite seeing that he was able to win his post despite the fact that the tide of that election was against the slate on which he ran. An endorsement from Kamla Persad-Bissessar would naturally boost his own chances.
Of course, the People’s Partnership Government has advocated the introduction of term limits for the Prime Minister. That legislation still has not been unveiled in accordance with the campaign promise to introduce it.
The UNC does not have term limits as part of its party constitution. Succession planning is a natural phenomenon in a situation where you have term limits. The issue has been around for a while.
The Wooding Constitution Commission took a hostile view of it in paragraph 284 of its 1974 Report as follows: “We considered and rejected the suggestion that a limit should be placed on the number of terms which any person may serve as Prime Minister. Essentially at any general election voters choose the party which they wish to form the government.
"It seems to us unthinkable to impose any restrictions on the number of successive terms which any party could win. Once that is conceded, it would seem to be wrong in principle to place a restriction on the party’s choice of leadership.
"This could have a significant effect on their chances of winning the elections. Compelling them to change their leader may, in effect, reduce their chances of success. We do not think that any useful purpose can be served from a study of the experience of the United States of America and some Latin American countries where the choice of President is essentially the choice of a person, not of a governing party.
"In these systems the office of President stands by itself separate and apart from Congress which may be controlled by a party other than that to which the President belongs.”
None of the members of the Wooding Commission disagreed with that proposal. However, the People’s Partnership’s promise goes against it.
-Hamid Ghany
In a UNC internal election, he would appear to be a favourite seeing that he was able to win his post despite the fact that the tide of that election was against the slate on which he ran. An endorsement from Kamla Persad-Bissessar would naturally boost his own chances.
Of course, the People’s Partnership Government has advocated the introduction of term limits for the Prime Minister. That legislation still has not been unveiled in accordance with the campaign promise to introduce it.
The UNC does not have term limits as part of its party constitution. Succession planning is a natural phenomenon in a situation where you have term limits. The issue has been around for a while.
The Wooding Constitution Commission took a hostile view of it in paragraph 284 of its 1974 Report as follows: “We considered and rejected the suggestion that a limit should be placed on the number of terms which any person may serve as Prime Minister. Essentially at any general election voters choose the party which they wish to form the government.
"It seems to us unthinkable to impose any restrictions on the number of successive terms which any party could win. Once that is conceded, it would seem to be wrong in principle to place a restriction on the party’s choice of leadership.
"This could have a significant effect on their chances of winning the elections. Compelling them to change their leader may, in effect, reduce their chances of success. We do not think that any useful purpose can be served from a study of the experience of the United States of America and some Latin American countries where the choice of President is essentially the choice of a person, not of a governing party.
"In these systems the office of President stands by itself separate and apart from Congress which may be controlled by a party other than that to which the President belongs.”
None of the members of the Wooding Commission disagreed with that proposal. However, the People’s Partnership’s promise goes against it.
-Hamid Ghany
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