PNM UNC trade blows over EBC

ACCUSATIONS flew fast and furious in the Senate yesterday, as Government and Opposition Senators blamed each other for trying to undermine the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) for political gain while Senate President, Dr Linda Baboolal fought to restrain the warring factions and restore order to the proceedings of the Upper House.

Debate on a Bill to “validate the Fourth Report of the Elections and Boundaries Commission under the EBC (Local Government) Act Chap. 25:50 for the purpose of Local Government Elections” moved by Local Government Minister Jarrette Narine, started innocently enough with United National Congress (UNC) Senator Sadiq Baksh saying the Opposition had no problem validating the report since it always respected the EBC’s independence. However, Baksh then deviated to accuse the People’s National Movement (PNM) of using the report as a smokescreen to influence the upcoming Local Government polls and having a history of voter-padding . He claimed that while all districts were supposed to have a minimum of 15,000 voters this was not reflected in the report, 50,826 persons had been removed from the November 2001 electoral list and new electoral districts had been added to the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo and Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporations.

“That is not strange,” Baksh remarked and reiterated his claims of PNM voter-padding to win three marginal seats in last year’s general elections. Attorney General Glenda Morean-Phillip declared Baksh’s statements irrelevant to debate on the Bill and Baboolal urged Baksh to come back to the matter at hand. Senate Opposition Leader Wade Mark described the UNC as the “quintessential organisation” which upheld the independence of the organisations like the EBC.