Whether or not it was a general election year, the myriad changes within the People’s Partnership Cabinet and frontline team, and the reasons for them, make recourse to the polls inevitable.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s latest cabinet adjustment has brought the number of changes she has made to her main team to approximately 25 (including changes to the original Senate leadership). This latter adjustment led certain TV6 commentators on Monday night to speculate that her newest offerings—new Attorney General Garvin Nicholas; senators Christine Newallo-Hosein, Brent Sancho and retired Brigadier General Carl Alfonso—might be facing the polls when called.
The PM in her announcement on Monday showed no sign of budging from last year’s declaration that the administration would go full term even up to September. But the latest challenge—the police probe of her former attorney general—could overturn that declaration depending on the probe’s outcome. Police officials said last Friday the investigation would not be concluded in a week, but was being worked on urgently since it was a serious issue.
Police Complaints Authority director David West has already given a statement to police. Ex-minister Gary Griffith said yesterday he had no qualms about the future and left the ministry “with a passing grade” since serious crimes and other issues were reduced under his watch.
While the Opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) has demanded that the Prime Minister call elections now, the PNM, which has screened nominees for 21 seats and completed four more last night, still has to screen for 16 more seats including San Fernando East. PNM general secretary Ashton Ford added, “But if an election date is called we ready.”
The United National Congress (UNC) has signalled that most of its current MP team will not be contesting. The PM’s shift of Stacy Roopnarine from Works to Gender Affairs has also heightened speculation about that. UNC deputy leader Roodal Moonilal said the UNC had been mobilising and putting machinery in place for some time and in “due course” would have a timetable for screening nominees. “This is an election year so of course we’ve done our homework,” he said.
On whether any of the newly-appointed senators would be election candidates—since some have speculated Newallo-Hosein may be placed in Tunapuna—Moonilal said, “It’s early in the days; their immediate focus is their ministries.”
On Congress of the People (COP) chairman Nicole Dyer-Griffith’s vexation over her husband Gary’s removal from Cabinet, Moonilal said the PP had worked with the COP leader, Prakash Ramadhar, and had the support of the COP after the party’s executive meeting on Monday On COP ripples caused by Griffith’s removal and his wife’s calls to have COP members decide if they wanted to remain in the PP, Moonilal said he would not want to comment on COP business.
Yesterday, Nicole Dyer-Griffith firmly rejected comments by COP leader Prakash Ramadhar that she had been “emotional” when she said she disagreed with his view on the cabinet changes. She maintained COP members must decide on Partnership links and said she was looking forward to the National Council meeting on the Sunday after Carnival when members would discuss the issue.
COP activist Phillip Alexander and other COP members are also lobbying to sever PP ties. Before the Government can set a date, however, certain pieces of legislation still have to be completed. This includes amendments to the provision in the Constitution (Amendment) Bill relating to the controversial runoff system. Amendments done in the Senate have to be approved by the Lower House. The legislation is on the parliamentary agenda. Moonilal said, “It will be dealt with in due course.”
He also said an Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) Report was currently before a cabinet sub-committee and a decision on that should soon be forthcoming. That report, done by EBC last year, involves boundary changes to a handful of seats including Oropouche West, San Fernando West and East, Diego Martin Central and West, Couva South and North, Port-of-Spain North and St Ann’s East. The changes will have implications for voting results there—particularly the southern seats.