Rekha Ramjit resigns from ILP

ATTORNEY Rekha Ramjit on Tuesday resigned as leader of the Independent Liberal Party (ILP) in a statement offering no explanation.

This came the day after Monday’s general election, when the sole ILP candidate, businessman Jack Warner, failed in his bid to wrest the Lopinot/Bon Air West seat from the PNM.

Ramjit wrote, “I have been proud to serve in this capacity since 2015 and amid the challenges we faced in a nation with a dominant two-party system, I am convinced that we have made our mark and have etched our party’s name in the annals of our national history.

“Regardless how one chooses to measure success, one cannot deny the rich history that belongs to our party.”

She said the ILP was the first party in TT’s post-colonial history to challenge a government in its home base and win a by-election, referring to Warner winning the Chaguanas West seat in 2013 against UNC candidate Khadijah Ameen. The ILP was also
the first “third party” to vie for power on its own and win seats in regional corporations, she said, referring to the 2013 local government election where it won two seats in Chaguanas Borough Council and one in Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation.

“No other party has captured the imagination of the people in recent times like the ILP has and this I will always remember. “Jack Warner, you are a great leader, an excellent motivator and one whose contribution to national development would have been defining if you were gifted with the opportunity to serve. I will miss our conversations, your erudition and the dreams we shared about making this country a place of which we can all be proud.”

Ramjit said the ILP executive will meet in short course to select a new leader.

“I know that whoever is chosen that the high standard that was set will be maintained. I believe that in the fullness of time the ILP will mature and become a force to reckon with across the nation. “I will always be a member of this great party and may God continue to imbue the new leader of the party with wisdom to be a part of the movement to change this nation for the good of all.”