Khan: New MPs will support Kamla as leader

SOME former UNC MPs were non-committal about whether or not Siparia MP-elect Kamla Persad-Bissessar should resign as UNC political leader after the party lost Monday's general election 19-22 to the PNM.

Former Barataria/San Juan MP Dr Fuad Khan said Persad-Bissessar's future as opposition leader and UNC leader "is secure with the candidates that she has chosen." According to Section 83 (4) of the Constitution, Persad-Bissessar's tenure as opposition leader could be challenged once the President determines that she no longer commands the support of the majority of the 18 opposition MPs in the House of Representatives.

But Khan opined that the UNC needed to address leadership issues "if our party is to resurge in the future." Khan did not stand for re-election. Former opposition senator Saddam Hosein won Barataria/San Juan for the UNC.

Khan said the election went the way he thought it would. He said the PNM used the covid19 pandemic to its benefit and "many people were not happy with the strategy of the UNC."

Khan said people wanted a coalition of forces against the PNM.

"The choices made could not push the party over the finish line where it mattered in special marginal seats."

Khan said now is a time when "selflessness should prevail."

Former Tabaquite MP Dr Surujrattan Rambachan did not believe Persad-Bissessar should resign because of the UNC's second general election loss under her leadership.

He said, "In time, the UNC will resolve its leadership succession in a mature fashion and in a democratic manner."

Rambachan, who also decided not to stand for re-election, added, "The UNC today is the most diverse political party in Trinidad."

He said this is "a fact which seems to elude even the media."

Rambachan said, while the election's result showed that democracy was alive and well in TT, he was concerned that the 50 per cent of people who voted for the UNC could be discriminated against by the PNM. Rambachan also hoped that whoever is chosen as Speaker of the House of the Representatives "will be unbiased and not treat the opposition with disrespect."

Former Chaguanas West MP Ganga Singh used an audio clip of a previous television interview to give his answer to the question as to whether or not Persad-Bissessar should resign as leader. He observed that in politics "time is longer than twine."

He recalled that Persad-Bissessar created "a clear demarcation" of the UNC going it alone into Monday's general election, instead of forming a coalition with other parties. Singh said the UNC, as currently configured, was unattractive to other parties which are desirous of a coalition against the PNM.

Reminded about efforts by Jack Warner and Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj to remove Basdeo Panday as UNC leader with Persad-Bissessar, Singh was asked whether similar moves would be made to remove Persad-Bissessar if she is not considered an asset as UNC leader.

Singh replied, "I am not a prophet or a prophetess to contemplate the future. But I know the politics is very dynamic in its current state."

However, Singh said he would not be initiating any action in that regard.