Hosein: Politics should not be a dirty game

Saddam Hosein, United National Congress (UNC) candidate for Barataria/San Juan said politics is a very hard game, but it should not be a dirty game.

He was speaking Thursday night in the UNC On the Ballot virtual campaign.

Hosein made no reference to any incident of dirty politics, but he was recently the target of a social media post making an allegation about his sexual orientation, which he has reportedly denied.

He told the virtual audience that he owed a debt of gratitude to the UNC's political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the screening committee and incumbent MP Dr Fuad Khan.

"Barataria/San Juan is UNC and it will remain UNC," he decalred.

He also threw some picong for his People's National Movement (PNM) opponent,2010 Road March winner Jason Williams.

"They put up a Road March king against me. But I will be the next Road March monarch of Barataria/San Juan."

Hosein said he started his walkabouts on Wednesday and the people he met touched his heart dearly. He added that he will base his campaign on "love."

He said the people should elect a government who cares and delivers to the people.

"Not one that causes loss of jobs, shuts down the biggest employers, has wild corrupt spending, and favours its own ministers."

On the choice of UNC candidates he said people have commented that experience is required, and it was not the time to experiment. He added, however, that the political leader has teams developing constituency plans and preparing themselves for governance.

UNC deputy political leader Jearlean John, who was later announced as the party's candidate for La Horquetta/Talparo, recalled last year during her walkabouts she encountered a young man named David Malone and asked him to speak on the platform. She said National Security Minister Stuart Young had commented that the man "had a rap sheet as long as his arm," and she was consorting with "criminal elements to gain political ground" and had taken on a "disturbing mandate" to do certain work on the East-West Corridor.

John said: "Young found that my trying to assist the poor, the downtrodden, the outcast, those who had voted overwhelmingly to secure him in high office was a disturbing mandate.

"If telling youths the only way out of poverty is through education, training and discipline is wrong, then I don't want to be right."