After being rejected as a candidate for Port-of-Spain South by the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) screening committee last month, former Port-of-Spain mayor Louis Lee Sing is now considering contesting the seat as an independent. Lee Sing, who also resigned from the party, said he is awaiting a poll on the views of constituents before making a decision to challenge his former party colleague Marlene Mac Donald, the current PoS South incumbent.
Speaking to reporters at the campaign launch for independent candidate for San Fernando West Jowelle De Souza on Thursday night, Lee Sing said voting independent candidates into the Parliament would change the political landscape and demand better performance from the government. “I want to say to you at this time, I am doing my own polls in Port-of-Spain South with clear intent to understand what is in the hearts and minds of the population in that part of Trinidad and Tobago and I will be guided by the polls,” he said.
“I think the country is unanimous in that none of the major political parties are deserving of office and so the issue is how do we bring a bridle to these runaway horses that we have as national parties, because regardless of what you say or do, they are going to emerge with the majority of seats in the Parliament.”
He added, “But if the independents in varying constituencies are to prevail, the Parliament and the way politics are conducted in Trinidad and Tobago can change overnight, which is to say the party that may form the government maybe doing it on a very slim thread and will have to negotiate rather than direct.” Noting the results of the past poll on Tunapuna done by Solution by Simulation, he said there is a high percentage of undecided voters who independent candidates could capitalise on.
Creating instability
Commenting on the controversial comments being made in Parliament and in election campaigns, Lee Sing said politicians have gone mad, leading the country into instability. He said the debates in Parliament have given the world the impression that T&T was a barbaric country that they should stay away from.
“I think the politicians in Government and Opposition have gone mad. I think we are at a stage in Trinidad and Tobago where the very people who we have elected to stabilise our democracy and our republic, and make it whole and sacred, are the very ones, by their behaviour, who have created a period of instability that I have never experienced in my adult life,” Lee Sing said.
“In fact, this country is more unstable now than ever in its history and this is why I made the point earlier on that the events of Monday, Insp Alexander and his people sent some very important messages to us. If they can hold the country to ransom like that, they could take the country from us and the environment is right for that because people no longer believe that the political parties represent the answer to our troubles.”
He was referring to the recent nationwide roadblocks by the police in what the called “Total Policing.”
Rowley ducking criticism
Lee Sing also said Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley initiated the PNM’s walkout during Wednesday’s Motion of Censure against him to ensure none of his members criticised him. He, however, questioned whether Government’s motion to express no confidence in Rowley would benefit the country. “Dr Rowley, in causing his team to leave the Parliament, in my view, ensured that nobody would speak ill of him, particularly the candidates who he had dissed. He ensured that nobody could vote against him if a vote was taken.
“Now that is one aspect of it, the other aspect is whether at the end of all this expenditure, would the average citizen be better off or richer for all that we have spent on this debate. “I think it is time that we begin to prioritise things in this country. This country is in for a rough ride financially and we must have a priority list. It is time we set clear standards on how we wished to be governed. We cannot be governed the way we have been governed in the last God knows how long.”