‘UNC party members must call for healing’

THE two slates that contested the United National Congress’ (UNC) internal National Executive (Natex) elections making amends is dependent on its membership, says political analyst Dr Bishnu Ragoonath.

‘I think it is the membership of the UNC who will now have to call upon their leadership, and when I say the leadership, the leadership of the both slates, to make amends and see where those gaps could be bridged. Again it is really something for the membership to demand of their leadership,’ said Dr Ragoonath.

Political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar supported the Star Team and Mayaro MP Rushton Paray led the United Patriots slate in the June 13 Natex election. The Star Team won the election.

Last week, Persad-Bissessar described the party’s internal elections as the ‘worst’ she has experienced. She lamented that the campaign had been a ‘battering’ one, and one which she claimed had included dishonesty.

‘We faced a bruising and battering campaign…,’ she said. ‘You remember the others came out and told you that we were not going to hold these elections so, from day one, the other team started with dishonesty.’

Also, in April the Opposition Leader labelled five MPs, who later formed the United Patriots slate, as ‘dissidents’ – Paray, Tabaquite MP Anita Haynes-Alleyne, Naparima MP Rodney Charles, Chaguanas West MP Dinesh Rambally, and Cumuto/ Manzanilla MP Dr Rai Ragbir.

Paray claimed that over the past month he weathered a barrage of insults and attempts at character assassination directed at him from the Opposition Leader as a result of his call for the internal UNC elections to be held. Following the internal elections, he said he accepted defeat and would continue to advocate for issues raised during the campaign though internally.

The party rift widened further on Friday when Ragbir broke ranks and voted with the Government on the Whistleblower Protection Bill.

The Express spoke with political analysts Wednesday on their perspectives on how the divisions in the party could be addressed in the aftermath of the UNC’s internal election.

Ragoonath in the interview said he is uncertain which one of the key players who participated in the election will extend an olive branch to the other.

‘I believe I would have heard Mr Paray say they are going to try to continue to push for change within the UNC. They are going to work with the new executive, but they are going to continue to push for change. Now bearing in mind the executive that was just selected was maintaining the status quo, I don’t know how that push for change would come along. So, those are the kinds of issues that one would have to be wary of as we go forward,’ he added.

Other political vehicles

He pointed out another issue saying ‘there is another variable that’s in play and that is simply, there may be other political vehicles that may be willing to attract some of those who have lost the election. And the question is whether or not they will be willing to use those other political vehicles as means to seek to regain power and if they do so then that would mean that they would be abdicating all their rights and responsibilities within the UNC.’

Ragoonath said he was unsure if this would occur but it is a factor to consider.

He also said it is up to candidates who would have lost the election to make themselves available to work with the current executive. He said, bearing in mind they have lost, they are going to be looking for a new vehicle (political party) to take them wherever they want to go. He explained further that consideration may be given to another political party.

‘We have to be real and we are fully aware for instance that Ms (Mickela) Panday (political leader of the Patriotic Front) has already indicated that she is willing to contest the 2025 elections. Some of the people who would have contested the internal elections and would have lost would have had relationships with the Pandays prior to Mr (Basdeo) Panday giving up leadership of the UNC. And some of those people may very well find that they are more fully embraced by Ms Panday rather than Kamla Persad- Bissessar; those are the kinds of things that you have to look at,’ he said.

He said, however, the losing candidates would have to ask themselves whether Persad-Bissessar and her team are willing to bury the hatchet. ‘And I hope when I say bury the hatchet not in other people’s backs but rather to bury the hatchet so that it is not used and that they could mend and move along,’ he added.

Pointing out that he cannot speak for the UNC, Ragoonath reiterated that the membership will have to direct their leadership as to how they want this to go forward. Drawing an example from previous elections where MP Dr Roodal Moonilal and Vasant Bharath contested Persad-Bissessar’s leadership, ‘Persad-Bissessar emerged as the winner, What transpired immediately thereafter, we saw that Vasant Bharath maintained his antagonism towards the leadership of the UNC and was pushed further and further away as opposed to Roodal Moonilal who embraced his leader, supported his leader and is now literally her second-in-command… so again everything is possible, it depends on the attitudes and the perspective adopted by the players themselves.’

‘It was democracy’

Political analyst Dr Winford James also commented on the UNC internal elections and said that ‘democracy has happened’. He added that the Star Team was supported by Persad-Bissessar but there was a lot of dissatisfaction in the UNC leading up to the elections.

‘Kamla herself was to say after the elections it was the worst experience in relation to their internal election which she witnessed,’ he recalled.

James continued: ‘Democracy could be very noisy and this one was particularly noisy, but it has come to an end and the people have voted, the people have installed the team that was supported by Mrs Persad-Bissessar.’

Touching on the by-elections of Quinam/Morne Diablo and Lengua/Indian Walk seats that followed the UNC’s internal elections, James pointed out that the PNM capturing a seat suggests UNC has not made any new ground.

‘They have even receded and from this perspective that might portend something very unsatisfactory for the UNC and something good for the PNM. That would have of course… you can’t make up your mind on two by-elections as an indication as what is going to happen next year in the general elections but it doesn’t seem to mean that the PNM has gone back; rather, they have one forward, the UNC has gone backwards. All of that is on data that is limited and insufficient but the country is being prepared, so to speak,’ he said.

He also expressed his belief there was always room for togetherness in relation to internal squabbles.

‘There are people right now in the PNM dissatisfied with the leadership of Dr Rowley but they would not say anything. The case of the UNC you have people there who continue to be dissatisfied and who were dissatisfied before the lead-up to the election and they made noise in the open. It’s always from an aesthetic point of view to iron out your clothes and wash your dirty linen behind closed doors that did not happen, but it does not mean that because there are grievances that one group has with the political leader that they are going to break and split,’ he explained.