The momentum the People’s National Movement has been building in the past few months has hit a snag as party groups and supporters in Diego Martin Central, Arima and Chaguanas East lock horns with the party’s screening committee.
Political analyst Maukesh Basdeo said while the mounting tensions could affect the party’s chances at the polls, he believes the situation could easily be defused with compromise on both sides.
“They have to sit down and come to some agreement on suitable candidates,” he said.
Basdeo, in a telephone interview yesterday, said the PNM’s constitution allows for the political leader, Dr Keith Rowley, to select a candidate if the party’s constituency executive cannot put forward a suitable candidate.
However, he said the party executive and the party groups must meet to resolve the present turmoil. PNM stalwarts Dr Amery Browne and Penelope Beckles still enjoy “substantial support” within Diego Martin Central and Arima respectively, he said.
Basdeo contended that to say at this stage that the PNM could lose these seats even before an election “is highly unlikely.”
However, he said there was a pattern going back in 2010 when the PNM lost Arima—one of the possible reasons was Beckles’ non-selection.
The spillover effect, he said, would have taken place in D’Abadie/O’Meara and La Horquetta/Talparo in 2010.
He said a similar situation was developing again in 2015 where the party has identified a candidate whom is not really supported by the party groups.
“The possibility that could happen is that people may decide that they may not vote PNM or they may not vote any other party, but really stay away to send a signal,” Basdeo concluded.