The Alliance of Independents (AOI) has severed ties with the newly-formed Third Force Movement (TFM) over its decision not to contest the September 7 general election.
Speaking at a press conference at the Chancellor Hotel, St Ann’s, hours after the TFM made its announcement yesterday, AOI leader Nicole Dyer-Griffith and chairman Joe Pires said their decision means that the party would press ahead alone with its bid for 12 constituencies in the hotly-contested election.
“It came as a complete shock to us. It is very interesting that a party of two weeks old now gaining momentum will now, all of a sudden, decide it was no longer interested in contesting elections,” Pires said, as he claimed that he only learned of the decision via a text message he received yesterday afternoon.
Questioning the reason given by the TFM in its statement, Pires said: “Why would we form a logo and register it with the Elections and Boundaries Commission if there was no intention to contest as a party? Even on the platform last Wednesday we called ourselves a party of parties.”
Besides not being consulted on the issue by TFM leader Timothy Hamel-Smith before the release was issued, both Dyer-Griffith and Pires pointed to several other factors which they claimed influenced their decision to withdraw from the coalition of parties and independent candidates.
Without directly accusing Hamel-Smith and the TFM of being influenced by other political parties, the AOI members criticised Hamel-Smith and AOI member Gerald Yetming for appearing on a recent United National Congress platform with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, which was widely published by the media.
“We in the AOI cannot say that we are surprised by this development as we have publicly stated over and over that we will not be used as a vehicle solely to get the UNC into office,” Dyer-Griffith said. She also referred to utterances from Hamel-Smith to her husband, former TFM and current AOI campaign manager Gary Griffith, which she said were a cause of concern to the AOI.
Griffith was criticised by Hamel-Smith this week after he (Griffith) commended Opposition People’s National Movement leader Dr Keith Rowley for reprimanding Fitzgerald Hinds for making distasteful comments against Hamel-Smith.
“We do believe that if the intention of this entire scenario served as a sad attempt to deplete the political stock of the AOI because we were not prepared to play along, then those who may have attempted so to do have failed miserably, as we stood before, and we continue to stand firmly, in support of those voters who refuse to be used once again,” Dyer-Griffith said.
She also stated that the union with the TFM was based mainly on its consistent views on campaign financing reform, procurement legislation and a fair voting system.
Funding issues
The AOI executive also claimed they were always suspicious of TFM’s financing as Yetming had repeatedly refused to answer their questions on the issue during their numerous discussions between the parties before their eventual split yesterday. “Obviously I was very concerned. I was practically the campaign manager planning the motorcade and the meetings.
“I was basically providing the expenditure without knowing where the income was coming from,” former national security minister Griffith, who was also at the meeting, revealed. When asked why the party did not shy away from the union with the TFM considering its reservations, Pires said: “In the excitement to serve T&T sometimes you slip up on your due diligence.”
Quizzed by reporters on the financing of the AOI, Pires and the Griffiths all claimed the party was being financed by themselves and other members in addition to the proceeds of fund-raising events. “We have every single bill and every cheque if someone wants to check,” Griffith said. Asked whether they believed the split would affect the party’s chances of success in the election, the AOI interim executive members all claimed the party’s credibility would receive a boost by the stance it was taking on the issue.
“It may not be a popular decision, we may face a barrage of insults as we move from here but sometime you have to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do,” Dyer-Griffith said.