As the nation waits on Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to call this year’s general election, former prime minister Basdeo Panday says she is leading the United National Congress (UNC) illegally. Parliamentary elections are constitutionally due by September but internal elections for the post of political leader in the UNC are overdue by two years, Panday said yesterday. Persad-Bissessar was elected leader of the UNC on January 2010, and became Leader of the Opposition one month later. In May she was elected Prime Minister.
Persad-Bissessar’s term was for three years and the other officers for two years. This means that the UNC political leader term expired in 2013 when relection was required. The other executive officers were elected/re-elected in 2012. They were supposed to seek election/re-election in 2014. None of those internal elections have been held.
Panday told the T&T Guardian he was grieving for the country on one side of his face and smiling on the other. He said he was grieving because “the country has sunk to the deepest level” under Persad-Bissessar. He explained that he was also smiling because “while they felt they could run the country citizens know now that they cannot. Panday had said since 2010 that Persad- Bissessar could not run the country.
The UNC in a release issued in 2014 said it was reviewing “its constitution and will hold its internal election after that exercise is completed and endorsed by the party’s National Executive.” That decision was taken at a meeting of the executive held at the party’s headquarters at Rienzi Complex, Couva on February 5, 2014. The release said “the party’s current constitution internal elections are held every two years for all members of the executive except the political leader; the leadership election is held every three years.
Natex discussed the forthcoming election and agreed that it would allow an internal constitution review committee to complete its work and submit its report and recommendations to NATEX for consideration and approval before the end of March, 2014.” According to the UNC release: “The elections would be held after that, at a date to be fixed.”
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Former party chairman, Jack Warner, who now leads the oppostion ILP, has repeatedly called on Persad-Bissessar to call the UNC elections. Yesterday he repeated that “if there can’t be democracy in the UNC how can there be democracy in the country under you in the country.” Political leader of the Opposition PNM Dr Keith Rowley, who was not due for re-election until after the 2015 general election amended the PNM constitution to seek a fresh mandate to lead in 2014.