NO TRUST IN PROCESS

FORMER minister Vasant Bharath wants independent observers for the UNC internal elections on December 6. He also wants to know who is the party's general secretary who is approving membership mere weeks before election day.

Bharath hopes to contest the leadership post and expects he will be nominated next Sunday.

At a press conference at his campaign headquarters at Cyrus Trace, San Juan, on Sunday, Bharath also asked about the selection process of the election committee and wants a list of all UNC's members.

Bharath said there was "no good excuse" not to have observers for the polls.

He said it would be hypocritical of the UNC not to have independent observers when it was vociferous when there were none for the August 10 general election.

“Independent observers act as a watchdog and overseer of the elections committee,” Bharath said.

"If the UNC leadership is of the view that the presence of observers is important and could determine the outcome of the elections then why is the UNC afraid of having observers in our own elections? We are not a party of hypocrites. We are a party of leaders.”

Bharath also disclosed that he was told by MP Davendranath Tancoo, who previously held the post of general secretary, that he no longer held the position since he was elected the member of Parliament for Oropouche West in August.

“Mr Tancoo has indicated to me in writing that he is no longer general secretary and has not been since his appointment as a member of parliament.”

But, Bharath said this raises a bigger issue since someone in the party has been approving new members since August.

“Hundreds of applications for membership have been approved and processed since the last general election. So the question is, 'Who is approving these applications? Who is approving these new members?' There seems to be institutional chaos in the UNC," he added.

Bharath wants a consultative process for the selection of an internal election commission. Instead, he said the UNC's leadership went ahead and selected one on their own.

“And then they told me to take my concerns to that very committee. In other words, what they have done is appoint a judge in their own cause. That violates all principles of fairness. It demonstrates that the current leadership has no respect whatsoever for electoral integrity,” he said,

Tancoo told Newsday he had faith in the integrity of the members selected to the committee and was disappointed Bharath did not.

"I am sure that he is aware that the members of the committee are all long-standing members of the party and several of them are part of its foundation. The national executive selected these members the same way as it has always been done and we selected the members based on the person’s integrity.

"We bent over backwards to ensure that these people were independent and of the highest integrity.”

He also said the position of general secretary of the UNC was not usually a "publicised one."

He could not say who the new general secretary was.

“I’m not sure. I left whatever documentation I had in the hands of the executive.” Tancoo also said independent observers have never been introduced in the UNC's elections as it was "not practical" to expose members to outsiders.

Nomination day for the UNC internal elections is November 15 and election day is on December 6.