Party threatens to stop election as candidate stuck in South Africa

THE LEADERS of a small political party are threatening to go to court to have the August 10 general election postponed because of TT’s closed-border policy as they seek an exemption for their chairman and prospective candidate.

Attorneys for chairman of the Unrepresented People’s Party (UPP) Bishop Ronald de Verteuil, have issued a pre-action protocol letter to the Prime Minister complaining of his failure, and that of the National Security Minister, to issue an exemption for the party’s leader to return to TT to contest the 2020 general election in August.

De Verteuil is currently in South Africa. The pre-action letter was signed by Kenneth Munroe-Brown from The Law Group Consultants and Attorneys at Law and addressed to Dr Rowley on Tuesday. Munroe-Brown is also the political leader of the UPP and intends to contest the Port of Spain North/ St Ann’s West seat, which has National Security Minister Stuart Young as the PNM's candidate for the 2020 polls.

According to Munroe-Brown, the Prime Minister and his National Security Minister are accused of failing to consider, respond and issue an exemption for de Verteuil’s return to TT to contest the August 10 general elections and to manage the UPP’s campaign and election machinery. De Verteuil is also president of the United Front for African Development, the letter said.

Munroe-Brown said it was hoped that “together, we can hammer out a pathway in resolving the issues which have emerged from the failure on the part of the Minister of National Security, Stuart Young, to consider/ properly consider/ respond to and/or refuse and/or issue an exemption to your government’s lockdown/closed border policy.”

The letter said de Verteuil was required in TT to manage the UPP’s campaign and election machinery in four constituencies. The party also intends to field candidates for the Tobago East and Tabaquite seats.

Munroe-Brown said the party’s chairman applied on July 5 for an exemption. He filed a second on July 8 “desperately seeking the exemption to allow him to gain entry into TT from South Africa.”