Ex-mayor endorses UNC candidate for SF'do W

Dr Navi Muradali, a former mayor of San Fernando, has endorsed the UNC candidate for San Fernando West.

Af ormer Congress of the People (COP) member, Muradali encouraged constituents to listen to what Sean Sobers offers, saying thousands of swing voters like himself are already supporting him.

"What I see in Sean Sobers I see in me. Someone in public life willing to take a risk to provide better representation, create good policy that benefits all the citizens, and ensure good governance and accountability," Muradali said in a release on Saturday.

"This message also resonates with the hundreds of thousands of voters who identify themselves as independent or non-aligned."

Muradali served as mayor from July 2012-November 2013 under the COP. Last November he resigned from the party.

He said after receiving an invitation as a resident of Les Efforts East/Cipero, he attended a cottage meeting on Friday night, and Sobers arrived with no entourage, no fanfare, no music trucks, and probably drove himself to the meeting.

Muradali said, "He struck me immediately as simple, humbled and grounded. I sensed he came with belief in himself and what he stood for; passion, integrity, and compassion."

Muradali said his first knowledge of Sobers came from the news months ago. The former mayor said Sobers, an attorney, participated in many social and community events, inspiring all generations to believe in themselves, including the youths.

Muradali said he was amazed by Sobers’s contribution at the meeting.

"I realised early that he was a good listener and wanted to share his dream and vision for a better San Fernando and the wider nation. Sean presented his concepts of CCTV’s for better crime detection, developing San Fernando Hill with family-type entertainment such as restaurants, cafes, and play parks," he said.

Sobers also spoke about transforming King’s Wharf into a city hub with a new "City Gate" to provide better transport. He also spoke about providing the space for a "seafood oasis" close to the fish market like what people experience in Oistins, Barbados, Muradali said.

Swing voters will not vote necessarily for a party but for strong policies, good governance, and better representation.

"Since the 1970s, my father, Nazim Muradali, former MP for Naparima South, under the DLP, also assisted the ONR, NAR, the COP. I was there all the way with him shaping a political vehicle to represent those who believed in nation first, party second," Muradali said. "We both believed in a political movement that embraced all of our people to provide a space for them to be creative, passionate, and productive. Hence, I have never joined a political party except for the COP, as a founding member."

Former tertiary education minister Fazal Karim also spoke at the meeting. Muradali considered him a pioneer in education and learning, saying Karim undoubtedly had a revolutionary impact for future generations.

"His vision for the drilling school, aviation campus, expanded GATE programmes and creating learning platforms and job opportunities for thousands of young, and the not-so-young citizens, has left a significant impact in this country," Muradali said.