Opposition Leader’s post:

With the support of 8 out of 15 functioning UNC Mps, MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar will succeed Basdeo Panday as Opposition Leader, confirming in the process the lame duck status of Political Leader, Winston Dookeran.

Mps- Subhas Panday, Kelvin Ramnath, Roodal Moonilal, Adesh Nanan, Chandresh Sharma, Hamza Rafeeq and Harry Partap indicated in writing to President Maxwell Richards yesterday that Persad-Bissessar “commands our support in the House of Representatives and we kindly request that she be appointed as Leader of the Opposition in the House”. Their letter was accompanied by a letter from Persad-Bissessar indicating that she was willing to serve in the position. (Basdeo Panday cannot support anyone because he no longer performs as an MP)

Both letters were delivered at 5.50 p.m. yesterday to the President by Moonilal and Nanan, and Deputy Political Leader Jack Warner who “chauffeured them” all the way to the President’s office, proudly receiving a handshake from his Excellency in the process. “He (the President) counted the names and thanked us for having done our homework,” Warner added enthusiastically.

Earlier in the day Richards had dismissed Panday, announcing to the public that the office of the Leader of the Opposition had become vacant.

Warner said he hopes that the President moves with the “same alacrity” to appoint Persad-Bissessar as he did to fire Panday.

When Richards makes the appointment, Persad-Bissessar would make another first in her political career. She will become the first female Opposition Leader. This would follow her appointment 11 years ago, as the first female Attorney General.

Persad-Bissessar’s proposed elevation to higher office was announced following an emergency Executive meeting at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition yesterday by Vice-Chairman Vasant Bharath, who stated that the Executive “endorsed and approved” the position taken by the Mps. The team backing Persad-Bissessar are known Panday loyalists..

Warner said Nizam Baksh who was asked to sign, stated that he had to first get advice from his spiritual leader. “I guess he has not gotten the advice as yet,” Warner quipped. He said Gillian Lucky said she couldn’t support the recommendation for Persad-Bissessar appointment, while Fuad Khan indicated that he supported neither Persad-Bissessar nor Winston Dookeran.

Bharath said Chief Whip, Ganga Singh, Dookeran and Manohar Ramsaran could not be reached. However, later questioned about Dookeran’s absence from the emergency Executive meeting, Bharath stated Dookeran chose to be absent because he was invited “during the course of the day”.

Asked how Persad-Bissessar became the candidate of choice, Bharath suggested that the Mps should hold a separate news conference to give these details. He denied that Panday issued instructions from jail on who should be his replacement. He said however that Panday was informed about all the developments.

On Dookeran being by-passed, Bharath stated: “Obviously Mr Dookeran does not enjoy the support of the majority of UNC Mps sitting in the House of Representatives,” Bharath stated. “And the national Executive,” CEO Tim Gopeesingh interjected. But Bharath played this down. He said the Executive had no choice but to respect the views of the Mps.

Speaking to Newsday afterwards, Ganga Singh said it was his understanding that Panday gave instructions to his Mps to support Persad-Bissessar. “This is what I was told by one sitting MP,” he said.

Singh said the party missed a golden opportunity for congruence between the Opposition Leader and Political Leader posts as envisaged by the Westminster system.

It would have been in the party’s, national, and public interest to have had the same person in the two positions, he said.