Former San Fernando mayor cops out

FORMER San Fernando mayor Dr Navi Muradali resigned from the Congress of the People (COP) on Wednesday, saying it no longer attracts the swing voters like himself.

In a Facebook messenger exchange Muradali, who served as mayor from July 2012-November 2013, said he has turned away from party politics for a while.

“In my humble assessment of the political landscape the swing voters have little faith in the COP to be their voice on the national and regional issues. The COP has become obsolete and instead swing voters use social media to voice their concerns rather than any national political party.”

Muradali sent a resignation letter to the general secretary of the party and copied its leader Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, who when contacted was unaware of his resignation.

He said he was a founding member of the party and held various positions in it, but became inactive after 2013 and has not aligned himself to any political group since

“I resigned from the COP because like the two other major parties, the PNM and UNC, it was no longer politically attractive to a swing voter like myself. Swing voters account for about 100,000 to 150,000 of the electorate and as the name implies can 'swing' a local or general election in any direction."

On Wednesday Seepersad-Bachan said COP candidates for the local government elections were being bribed to drop out the race.

Asked if his sudden departure was related to that, Muradali said: “My resignation has nothing to do with local government elections but rather to give myself an opportunity to be free from party politics and focus on specific issues where I can make a contribution such as healthcare and education. In due course I will decide whether or not it is necessary to be active or passive in the traditional partisan politics.”