Election deja vu for UNC

THE late selection of candidates for the July 16 by-elections in Belmont East and Barataria is a repeat of the mistake the United National Congress (UNC) made in the general election campaign of 2015.

UWI political scientist Dr Bishnu Ragoonath expressed this opinion Monday.

On Sunday, the UNC selected Sharon Maraj-Dharam and Lianna Babb-Gonzales as its respective candidates for Barataria and Belmont East. The UNC elections officer said both women had strong ties with their communities and this will be reflected on July 16.

But Ragoonath told Newsday the UNC had “fallen into the same trap” as the strategy it used in the September 2015 general election campaign, when, he said, it waited too late to choose its candidates.

Ragoonath disagreed with UNC deputy leader David Lee’s comment that the party was confident of victory while campaigning in both districts without candidates. Such a statement, Ragoonath argue, “holds no strength.” He said for a campaign to be effective, electors needed to have candidates they could identify with.

The People’s National Movement’s respective Belmont East and Barataria candidates, Nicole Young and Kimberly Small, were chosen by the party on April 11.

Ragoonath did not see the Barataria district’s location in the Barataria/San Juan constituency as an advantage for the UNC.

With both seats having been held by the PNM and being the incumbent, Ragoonath opined this already gave the PNM an advantage.

Local government elections always have lower voter turnouts than general elections, and against this background, Ragoonath said local government by-elections have even lower turnouts than general local government polls.

Victory on election day, he said, will go to whichever party is able to bring out its supporters, and while victory is not impossible for the UNC, Ragoonath said the Opposition faces an uphill battle and must cover ground.

Nomination Day is June 25. The Barataria and Belmont East seats became vacant after the deaths of councillors Pernell Bruno and Darryl Rajpaul last July and November respectively.

Political scientist Dr Winford James last week said the outcome of the by-elections would not affect the PNM or UNC’s political fortunes.