Gopeesingh: A nice, friendly battle

The party’s internal election campaign began in earnest with two separate slates vying for the party’s top executive positions.

Speaking to reporters at Rienzi Complex early yesterday morning hours before the votes were tallied, Gopeesingh described the election campaign as a "nice, friendly battle" which he anticipate would not produce any long-term bitterness.

"At the end of it all, we are all UNC again. We always have been UNC and we will all be the UNC family again. We will continue to work together for the party and then to retrieve government from an inept, incompetent government," Gopeesingh said.

He stated that he looked forward to when all the ‘‘wounds’’ between the members of the slates would be healed.

Gopeesingh added, "there might be some apologies at the end of it." He believe that apologies for some of the things said on the platform should come from both slates.Gopeesingh expressed the view that Political Leader designate Winston Dookeran, who was nominated unopposed, would receive support from all party members and supporters, despite the tension that existed between both slates during the run-up to Sunday’s elections. Gopeesingh declared, "We are going to work with our political leader and pledge a 150 percent support. We will all work together as a family harder than we have ever worked." Some 28,000 financial members were registered to vote, a figure down from 89,000 members in 2001 when only 23 percent had voted in the party’s executive elections. Commenting on this low turnout of UNC members, Gopeesingh said that 34-35 percent of the total financial members voted at 61 polling stations.