Panday lingers on until July

UNITED NATIONAL CONGRESS (UNC) Political Leader Basdeo Panday will remain at the helm of the Opposition’s ship until July 2004, when the party is scheduled to hold its internal elections. Whether Panday carries through on his public pledge to retire from active politics at age 70, however, remains to be seen. UNC chairman Wade Mark told Newsday yesterday that because of the death of Opposition Senator Arnim Smith in November, several of the party’s political activities were postponed. He explained that before elections can be held, the UNC must first hold its National Congress and National Assembly to address certain matters. Those matters, Mark continued, will include the selection of three deputy political leaders and the approval of a new constitution for the UNC.

On the former, Mark said the party’s membership will have to decide whether the deputy leaders will be appointed or elected. During the last UNC internal polls in June 2001, the party was split down the middle after then Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj was elected as deputy political leader over Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar and then St Joseph MP Carlos John. John was reportedly heavily favoured by Panday for the post of UNC deputy leader and the split ultimately led to Maharaj’s dismissal from the UNC and the party’s downfall in the December 2001 general election. Once approved by the UNC’s membership, the party will have a leadership structure similar to that of the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM). Mark added that once everything runs according to schedule, the National Congress and National Assembly will be held in February and March respectively with the internal elections to follow around June or July.

Following the UNC’s defeat in the general election of October 2002, Panday said he wanted to retire from active politics at age 70 and repeated that desire following the party’s defeat in the July 14 Local Government Elections. However, Panday has also said he would not abandon the party in mid-stream and leave it vulnerable to “political predators.” The UNC leader has identified Maharaj as such a predator. In a Newsday interview earlier this year, Panday said he would be willing to remain in the party as Couva North MP. A series of NACTA polls throughout the year have questioned whether Panday would keep his promise and have said his departure would serve the party’s interests in the long run. Opposition MPs Gerald Yetming and Winston Dookeran have both said Panday should make way for new blood. Dookeran is widely touted as Panday’s heir apparent but has publicly denied having leadership ambitions. Panday is currently spending Christmas in London and is scheduled to attend an Indian Diaspora conference in New Delhi, India, from January 9 -11. The UNC leader will return home by the end of January.