D-Day for UNC today

Today’s much-anticipated elections began in earnest yesterday with special voting from 10 am to 4 pm at the UNC’s Rienzi Complex headquarters in Couva. Chairman of the elections committee, former Senate President Ganace Ramdial, said yesterday’s voting was held to accommodate the election officials who will be guiding activities at 61 polling stations located in all 36 constituencies in Trinidad and Tobago. Ramdial explained that with the exception of security being provided by the police at the polling stations, today’s elections will be similar to General Elections. The polls close at 6 pm and all of the estimated 120 ballot boxes used in the elections will be brought back to Rienzi Complex where the pains-taking task of counting the ballots will take place. Ramdial added that all systems were in place for the elections and he did not anticipate any problems. Sources are optimistic that a result should be known sometime later in the evening.

Contacted yesterday at his San Fernando home, Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday told Sunday Newsday he was confident that regardless of the outcome of today’s elections, the UNC would emerge as a stronger political entity. Panday said he was very happy to see that democracy was alive and well during the month-long campaign between his Patriots slate and the Progressives slate which has been endorsed by UNC political leader designate Winston Dookeran.

Asked whether he thought the campaign was a clean one, Dookeran said the evidence was there for people to make their own determination. The St Augustine MP declined to comment on reports claiming he was ineligible to be UNC political leader but UNC Progressives candidate, Sadiq Baksh slammed those reports as a "pathetic and futile attempt" by defenders of an outdated organisation status quo to distract attention away from the fact that the Progressives have bright electoral prospects and have gained massive support from the UNC’s membership going into today’s elections. Baksh said the records clearly show that Dookeran has been a UNC financial member since he won the St Augustine seat in the 2002 General Elections and is therefore eligible to contest any post in the party’s executive.

Asked whether attempts would be made to reconcile with former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and other former UNC members such as Trevor Sudama and "independent UNC MPs" Gillian Lucky and Dr Fuad Khan, Panday was non-committal and would only say that whatever happens in the future would be dealt with by the party. Dookeran meanwhile declined comment on the issue of reconciliation with former UNC members but said he has outlined the principles through which he would like to see a new UNC emerge and felt the response from the party’s membership to his message was "overwhelming."

Panday and Maharaj have expressed a willingess to speak about unity but have yet to meet. No attempt has been made to date to encourage Lucky, Khan or Sudama to rejoin the UNC.

The run-up to today’s elections over the last two months has been marred by questions as to whether Panday would resign as UNC leader, Dookeran would accept the mantle and allegations of cliques operating within the UNC to sell out the party to other political entities. Panday silenced those critics in August when he announced in Kelly Village that he would be leading a slate in the elections, would not be abandoning the party and endorsed Dookeran as political leader. The month-long campaign between Panday’s Patriots and the Progressives has been equally intense with verbal attacks flying fast and furious from both sides.

Some party insiders claim that given the intensity of the campaign, there is the distinct possibility of strong rivalry for the national executive’s 16 posts and confusion arising when the election results are announced sometime later this evening or tomorrow. Certain sources are claiming that statements by Panday about the threat of the UNC being opened up for a political takeover has caused concern in the party’s heartland areas and could result in a heavy voter turnout in these places that could give the Patriots an edge. However, other information suggests that the contest is a virtual dead heat and no side will emerge with a landslide victory when the results are announced.

Panday is expected to cast his ballot at the Grant Memorial Presbyterian School in San Fernando while Dookeran will cast his ballot either at the Tunapuna Hindu School or the El Dorado North Hindu School.