Merle Hodge: Stop ‘race’ voting

At a COP rally at Tunapuna Road on Thursday night, Hodge called for an end to “race” voting, and for the election of Dookeran.

She said she was optimistic for the future of politics in Trinidad and Tobago.

“My optimism comes because the People’s Partnership has already begun to change the political culture of the country.”

In fact, she said the change had begun with Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar, even before the People’s Partnership was formed

Hodge said, “It began with the clean and decent campaign that Kamla ran when she contested the UNC internal elections”.

She lamented that the population had been politically divided into two camps by ethnicity, but thought this could be overcome.

“In its ethnic composition Trinidad and Tobago is truly a coalition country, if ever there was one,” she said.

“I am very optimistic that the coalition has the potential to break the ‘race politics’,” she said, to the approval of the crowd’s whistles and horns.

She scoffed at Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s lament that political meetings are based on race, as she countered that this is so only of PNM meetings.

“The People’s Partnership slate is the most mixed,” she said, although noticing that local meetings would reflect local communities (that is, populations). Hodge welcomed a shared leadership of the coalition which would discuss ideas. She said a collective leadership of the coalition is less likely to give rise to maximum leadership. “The People’s Partnership has a strong belief in people’s participation,” she effused.

“Saying Dookeran has proposed a community council in a given constituency, she said, “The People’s Partnership will encourage people to participate in running the country,” she added.