UNC slates a curious mix

Both factions have attempted to present a racially mixed slate. The faction led by Basdeo Panday includes Wade Mark, Daphne Phillips, Rupert Griffith, Carl Hector and Don Sylvester. The faction led by Winston Dookeran has Jack Warner, Roy Augustus, Gary Griffith, Barrington Thomas and, adding to racial if not class diversity, Gerald Yetming and Joseph Pires. Both slates are dominated by a similar proportion of Indo-Trinidadians, as must be expected for the Central-based party. And, although the difference is mostly cosmetic, the Dookeran slate seems more middle-class than the Panday one.

Race and class are only two of the factors playing out in this internal strategy, however. Also important is the issue of integrity, which common wisdom holds is the key to deciding how the UNC will perform in the next general election — indeed, which may have been the overriding factor causing Mr Panday to step aside as the party’s de jure political leader.

No doubt this was one reason why the Panday faction chose praying hands as its symbol — as well as the fact that this is a recognised gesture of Mr Panday’s.

In respect of the need to promote a clean image, Mr Panday’s choice of Vasant Bharath to contest the post of deputy chairman is interesting. Mr Bharath shot to prominence in 1998 because of the so-called "dog rice scandal" at the National Flour Mills, where he was chief executive officer at the time.

Only this year, Mr Bharath was finally cleared of all allegations of wrong-doing in that matter. Unfortunately, public perception is not easily altered by court decisions so, if Mr Bharath wins a post in the UNC, he and Mr Panday will have to do some hard work in order to overcome the taint of past allegations.

Another curious choice is Dr Rupert Griffith, who is best known for crossing the floor from PNM to UNC when the latter was in office, where he was rewarded with an appointment as Information Minister. That act discredited him among both citizenry and media, but Mr Panday apparently believes that Dr Griffith brings some sort of benefit to his slate that outweighs past actions. Whether Mr Panday’s political calculation is correct will be determined over the next few weeks. However, the inclusion of Fyzabad MP Chandresh Sharma seems a truly unsolvable equation, since the teacup hanging from Mr Sharma’s neck makes him a political liability in terms of adding the straightforward image that Mr Panday needs.

Against these faces, the presence of Drs Hamza Rafeek and Daphne Phillips do lend an aura of quiet dignity and social conscience to the Panday slate. But neither of them are dominant personalities, so they may not be able to affect the overall image too greatly. Meanwhile, on the Dookeran side, the only seeming liability is Mr Barrington Thomas, and he is only a flyweight.

However, we are cognizant that none of the factors we have outlined may necessarily affect the UNC’s internal election. At the same time, what slate, or which individual, wins will certainly affect the credibility of the UNC when it offers itself for the next national election. The outcome within the party will send a message to the public about whether the UNC is really serious about changing itself for the better.