UNC election delay

THE United National Congress (UNC) executive elections have been postponed, amid talk of a ploy to head off a leadership bid by St Augustine MP Winston Dookeran. UNC CEO, Dr Tim Gopeesingh, yesterday told Sunday Newsday that the election has been put off from September 18 to October 2, as agreed yesterday at an emergency meeting of the UNC executive at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition. The UNC executive had been asked to postpone the election by eight MPs —Chandresh Sharma, Kelvin Ramnath, Adesh Nanan, Kamla Persad-Bissesar, Subhas Panday, Hamza Rafeeq, Nizam Baksh and Harry Partap — in order to first do the party’s “transformation process.”

Gopeesingh yesterday said the executive, which includes Panday, had agreed to a two-week postponement, not the six weeks sought. But sources told Sunday Newsday that the talk on the date of the UNC elections masked a frenzied, behind-the-scenes jockeying for rank. Reports are that Panday had said he would step down from the UNC leadership, in favour of Dookeran. However, according to sources, one faction of UNC MPs got wind of this move and decided to ask for a postponement of the party elections in order to organise their own forces to head off Dookeran.

He said members were also hesitant about having the elections during the expected Budget debate and before the Republic Day celebrations. He said the meeting was attended by a “full quorum” of UNC MPs. Goopeesingh said the party’s internal elections would be conducted on the one-man one-vote democratic principle to ensure transparency and openness in the UNC. He also confirmed that every position within the party would be up for grabs including that of political leader.