UNC gears up for full election slate

United National Congress (UNC) screening for the 2020 general elections should be completed by the end of the week, says UNC chairman Peter Kanhai.

He told Sunday Newsday screening was an on-going process that would continue on Monday or Tuesday.

So far, ten candidates have been confirmed. They include Marsha Riley-Walker for Diego Martin West, John Ricardo Laquis for Diego Martin Central, Eli Zakour for Diego Martin North/East, Curtis Orr for Port of Spain South, Darren Garner for PoS North/St Ann’s West, Kenya Charles for St Ann's East, Ahloy Hunt for St Joseph, Sean Sobers for San Fernando West, Michelle Benjamin for Moruga/Tableland, and Taharqa Obika for Point Fortin.

When asked about screening for Princes Town and its sitting MP, Barry Padarath, Kanhai said he had not seen the list of all the nominees but would do so when the screening committee was ready to screen that constituency.

Padarath left TT for Florida to visit his daughter, Sejal Lara Padarath before the borders were closed in March to curb the spread of the covid19 pandemic. Also, on Friday he was granted leave from Parliament until the end of June.

“We will screen the Princes Town constituency as we will screen all other constituencies. I would expect that Mr Padarath is going to present himself for screening when that time comes.”

St Ann’s East candidate Kenya Charles, 31, said she has been with the UNC for several years but she decided to become more active in the party. She said she always had a passion for helping people, especially youths.

The former under-20 national footballer has been working with youths in her area of Maracas Valley as a mentor and assistant football coach. “I saw the need to guide them and going into politics gives me a way to help them in a broader sense. I will be able to do more for them than help them with football.”

She said her constituency has been forgotten over the years. She said there has been different People’s National Movement (PNM) MPs over the years yet the only time anything was done for them was during the People’s Partnership governance.

“Even though we had a PNM MP, this was the party that was working for us so, if I want to represent my people and I want to represent them well, I realised UNC is the one to be with.”

She highlighted several issues she hoped to address including crime, education, and health care. She said her constituency had “fallen to criminal elements” and wanted to engage the youths in sports, courses in trade, and other activities to keep them off the streets as well as to enhance themselves.

She said the health centre in Las Cuevas was only open on Mondays and Wednesdays so if anyone fell ill on any other day, they would have to find their way to Port of Spain General Hospital. She said the schools in the area needed equipment, that transport was expensive or unreliable, and fishermen did not have a proper fishing depot.

“We need to do better for the youth and in doing so we have to do better for their parents to provide for their children. I want to bring stability because ever since St Ann’s has had a lot of talent but people don’t see it because they don’t come out of the area because they can’t afford to financially.”

She said she would be ready for the election whenever the Prime Minister announced the date because she started campaigning before covid19 arrived in TT. She said she continued working with people of the area even though she stuck to the stay-at-home and physical distancing restrictions.

Kanhai said the party had been preparing for the general election for the past four years. “We have had all our people out on the ground across the country, working with their constituencies. Of course, as elections get closer that will be ramped up, keeping in mind covid19 restrictions.”

During a press conference on Thursday, Rowley said covid19 would change how political parties campaign leading up to the general election, as well as the running of the election.

The Election and Boundaries Commission also said it had a plan for election day, incorporating covid19 guidelines, if such restrictions were still in place at that time.

Asked about the execution of voting this year, Kanhai said since he did not know the election date, he would wait to comment on any adjustments the party would like to see as circumstances may change and therefore some restrictions could be lifted by that time.

In addition to the UNC and the PNM, the Congress of the People, the Movement for Social Justice, the Progressive Party, the Patriotic Front and the New National Vision (NNV) expressed their intention to contest the elections.

However, NNV's leader Fuad Abu Bakr, this week, appeared at the PNM's screening exercise on Thursday, hoping to be selected as a candidate for Port of Spain South. He said he had stepped down from the party.