Ramadhar, Dyer-Griffith considering COP election

Former chairman Nicole Dyer- Griffith and former political leader Prakash Ramadhar said they were considering contesting the party’s internal polls .

“I am giving it active consideration because of the number of persons that have given quite compelling reasons for asking me to consider it, but it is not a decision to be taken lightly,” Dyer- Griffith told Newsday yesterday .

Griffith said part of her deliberation over the decision involved meeting with many current and former supporters of the party to hear their thoughts on the party’s current status and its future .

“It would take a number of strategies to rebrand, to regroup and re-energise the party. It is almost like re-engineering a rebirth and a revolution which I think quite frankly is something that might really add some new life to the current political landscape,” she said. The former party chairman said the party would always have a place in her “political heart” as it was where she launched her career, but said she resigned in 2015 after she felt it lost its “political moorings.” Former political leader Ramadhar, who resigned last year after taking responsibility for the party’s losses in the general and local government elections, is also considering a return to the helm of the party. In a brief telephone interview, Ramadhar said, “I have been asked to consider contesting the election by many, many COP supporters, but I have not decided yet whether or not I will be contesting.” The upcoming election is an important one for the party’s future following its recent losses .

Current political leader Dr Anirudh Mahabir, who took up the post after Ramadhar’s resignation, said he will not contest a position .

June 16 is nomination day for the internal elections .