Jack Warner to contest general election

Jack Warner is back in the political fray.

The former government minister and football jefe will contest the Lopinot/Bon Air seat in the August 10 general election.

Warner, 77, is expected to file his nomination papers on Friday morning under the Independent Liberal Party which he founded in 2013 after breaking away from the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led People's Partnership.

Warner announced his candidacy in a statement on Thursday and said he will explain his reasons for contesting the election at a press conference scheduled for 3 pm, on Friday, at his office in Arouca.

Warner, who served as minister of works and transport and national security during his term in the Persad-Bisessar administration, will speak about the duty of a member of Parliament, the statement said.

Warner was elected Chaguanas West MP in 2010, under the PP, and won the seat again in 2013 in a by-election as the ILP candidate, which he triggered when he resigned the seat after he was fired by Persad-Bissessar.

His statement said he was "an exemplary" minister "so much so that even today his views and advice continue to be sought."
"This is an opportunity for you to hear his reasons for choosing to return to electoral
politics and share a bit on his vision, goals and strategies."

Warner was unable to make it a hattrick in 2015, when he lost the Chaguanas West seat to the United National Congress' Ganga Singh. The UNC was also unable to return to power losing to the incumbent PNM.

Warner returns to politics even as he fights extradition to the US on corruption charges that stem from his role as vice president of FIFA, the governing body of global football.
He was implicated in a bribery scandal and suspended by FIFA before resigning in 2011, but remained in office as a government minister.

However, in 2013 a Concacaf integrity report again claimed Warner had committed fraud and Persad-Bissessar fired him over the allegations.

In 2015, Warner (along with several other FIFA officials who were arrested in Zurich before the annual FIFA Congress) was charged in the United States with "wire fraud, racketeering, and money laundering."

FIFA also banned him for life.
In April, Warner dismissed an Associated Press report on new details of the alleged bribes, including that he received US$5 million to support Russia's winning bid for the 2018 World Cup.

The US indictment also accuses Warner and other former FIFA executives of committing fraud to secure votes for Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup.