I am humbled by your devotion!
I am honoured by your trust!
As Prime Minister-elect...As Prime Minister-elect of the Trinidad and Tobago...May I say how grateful I am by your overwhelming response to the People’s Partnership. And may I thank God for the guidance that has brought us here to this victory.
Over the past month, I have asked for your hand, today you gave me your hand in trust; you gave me your love, support and confidence. I am so deeply humbled.
The honour which you now accord me is without parallel. I accept it with deep gratitude and affection.
My brothers and sisters, your confidence today illuminates the theme of unity of all our peoples, to which we in the People’s Partnership have devoted our lives.
THIS is a Victory of the People. You, the people, have won.
The bells of freedom have rung resoundingly across our great nation. You have freely chosen the government you want to lead you. And the voice of the people is the voice of God.
The changing of the guard is an indicator that our democracy is still preserved and there can be nothing of greater importance for this nation. And tonight you have good cause to celebrate albeit in moderation. You have earned the right to feel good about what you have achieved.
But let this not be a night we say Kamla or the People’s Partnership won, let it be said that the Trinidad and Tobago won. Let history record that each of you took part in a process that ensured the will of the people was carried out.
Congratulations to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. And I wish to make special mention of Tobago. No longer will you have to feel like the ones left out. Tobagonians, welcome to your future equal participation in the affairs of our twin island state!
This victory only occurred because we listened to people from all walks of life.
I pledge tonight that I will never stop paying attention to your needs. I will ensure that the leadership of the People’s Partnership responds accordingly. No-one will be left out.
Tonight I offer my hand to all those who did not feel assured to give us their confidence today. I want to assure you that we will work for all of Trinidad and Tobago. We will work twice as hard to gain your faith and trust!
As a nation WE WILL ALL RISE!...The unbelievers said that they were mere words, a slogan and a flamboyant phase. Even when our opponents tried to downgrade our clarion call to unity, we built our collective strength and character around our belief that WE WILL RISE!
Tonight I want to thank the chairman of the UNC Jack Warner...Jack Warner, thank you!
We were brave enough to face our challenges. To each of you, I offer a hand of genuine partnership in the important task of rebuilding our nation. Party loyalty to me after an election is of no more significance than the colour of your eyes or the texture of your hair or the colour of your skin.
To the supporters of the People’s Partnership I cannot begin to express how much your words of encouragement have inspired me.
This has been quite a journey for me and one which has brought so many people by my side along the way. So it would be difficult to individually thank them all but it would be remiss of me if I failed to mention the dedication and support of my husband Gregory and my children.
It is never easy on a family when your wife and mother juggles her roles with her political life and so tonight I pay tribute to them for the way they have endured these years with love and selflessness...
And to my niece, my special daughter, Lisa thank you my love for being there for me. Lisa endured and sufficed so much during this difficult time, she bore the greatest trauma that can face us, that of a victim of criminals. Lisa I thank you and love you.
To Usha, Roopchand, Arlene, Vishnu, Karen, Silvy and Reesa all the ladies and gentlemen at Siparia Constituency office and here at the Rienzi Complex...for the late nights and the long hours, for the dedication and the resolve, I thank you, and I love you all!
May I also say a special thanks to the members, supporters and well wishers of my party the glorious United National Congress!
January 24 seems so long ago. It was 120 days ago that you gave me your sacred trust to lead our great party. Now I am so humbled to have delivered to you the Government of the Trinidad and Tobago.
May I also thank all our UNC soldiers who laboured in the vineyards for the past decade during our most difficult days in opposition, all our members and officers who worked tirelessly to keep our party alive and keep our flag flying high and proud.
I am so grateful for your work and sacrifice that has brought to this historic moment. I love you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I express my gratitude as well, to the founder and former leader of the UNC the Hon. Basdeo Panday for his years of service and dedication to the cause of justice, equality and national unity.
As Mr. Panday celebrates his 77 birthday (on May 25) from Rienzi Complex- Happy Birthday, Mr. Panday - we wish you a most pleasant and joyful day in the glory of the rising sun!...
But there can be no greater gratitude tonight than that which I express to all those who believed in themselves and this great nation of ours. Because of you we now stand on the cusp of a great moment in our history, one in which we begin the task of bringing people together to rebuild Trinidad and Tobago to make it safer, cleaner, more truly progressive than it has ever been before.
It will not be easy but the process is going to be as rewarding as it is challenging. And I begin that process from this very moment...
In fact, I can admit to you now that I had started working on what needed to be done before Day One. Tonight, not tomorrow, tonight, I begin the task of selecting the most capable, competent, committed patriots to be a part of the leadership in the country’s various Ministries...And I will do so without fear or favour...I will do it for the common good of all the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
There will be continuity in all sectors of governance with a greater emphasis on consultation, accountability and retention of all critical policies that will be needed to ensure administrative and economic stability in transition.
There will not be the old politics of dismantling programmes and projects and plastering of new names just to stake a political claim, rather, there will be responsible, collaborative and proactive governance to provide the equitable representation and administration that every citizen, regardless of race or creed, deserves in this land.
Obviously, the process will require a level of consultation with the members of the People’s Partnership and your representatives,and I am confident that we will share the same perspectives on what is required to get the job done effectively and immediately.
I look ahead to the next few years with enthusiasm and great expectation. And I can assure you that I will lead a government filled with compassion and concern and with love about all.
The campaign promises must now become government policies. I can guarantee you a government that is accountable and transparent. You can hold me to the promise of the change which you so positively voted for tonight.
As I heard the results coming in and saw the trend I knew the time had come. A new page had been turned in our nation’s history and the responsibility to each of you is now on my shoulders. I will not let you down...I will not let you down.
I bring to my leadership not just political experience and government experience but I also carry into the office of the Prime Ministership the nurturing nature of a mother and grandmother and I will look after each of you all as my own.
And when someone asked me what was the first thing I would do as Prime Minister I instinctively replied “To visit a few Children’s Homes and Schools.” And having said that, it is what I intend to do...And I guess I said that because this is where the change must all begin...I want to say special thanks to the Congress of the People and our brother, Winston dookeran...there will be no UNC, there will be no COP, there will be no PNM...we are one nation, we are one people and together we will rise...
In closing I wish at this juncture to pay special tribute to the Hon. Patrick Manning, Political Leader of the Peoples National Movement (PNM) who has been a most worthy and formidable opponent...
Whatever are our differences in ideology and policy Mr. Manning has given over 30 years of his life to public service. While we may not agree on approaches and programs, we reserve and defend the right to disagree...Tonight, however, I quite understand that for all of you that it begins with a nationwide celebration. But please, let us not lose a single of you tonight through recklessness and carelessness.
Be responsible. Don’t drink and drive. Call the Arrive Alive team. May God bless you. May God bless our nation.
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