The choice of a president

THE EDITOR: The Electoral College, consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament, meets soon to elect a new president. Nominations are in by both the ruling PNM and the Opposition UNC.

The PNM has nominated Senate President Christine Kangaloo to be the next president of the republic, while the UNC has nominated Israel Khan SC after objecting to the PNM’s nominee. Both political leaders have indicated the need for consensus in selecting an individual for president. I am not too sure how much they mean what they say.

The UNC has rejected Kangaloo as this country’s seventh president and has put forward compelling reasons for the rejection. These reasons are as follows:

* Kangaloo and her family are deeply entrenched within the PNM.

* Kangaloo contested a seat for the PNM some years ago.

* She was an opposition senator.

* She was a minister in a PNM government.

Dr Rowley’s justification for nominating Kangaloo are as follows:

* She is eminently qualified for the position of president.

* As Senate President she acted for the President when the President was not available.

* She has long service as a public officer.

My own view, even as an ordinary member of the PNM, one with no collective responsibility, is that the UNC’s objection of Kangaloo is more convincing. The reasons put forward for the rejection are enthralling.

I expect that the Prime Minister will be magnanimous and in so doing create history by leaving a legacy in reconsidering his pick for president. I expect he will go back to his Cabinet and instruct all his MPs to vote for the Opposition pick, Israel Khan.

I endorse the view that Khan has a fiercely independent track record, that he has significant experience within the legal fraternity and that he has made a dynamic contribution to our national development. I am of the view that he is a much more suitable candidate for this distinguished office than Kangaloo.

While Kangaloo would have given her consent to be nominated, now that she has heard the nominee coming from the UNC she would, in all good graces, say to herself, “Israel Khan fits the bill for president more than myself” and she would say to the Prime Minister in all humility, “I thank you for considering me but I kindly give way to Israel Khan who is more eminently qualified than I am and he is much more suitable, having less baggage than me.”

I am certain that if Kangaloo shows that selfless, unselfish and altruistic state of mind, the country will embrace her. But more than that, the electorate will now surely take the gospel of the PNM and spread it all over with that kind of magnanimity.

I close by stating the views of two political analysts. Dr Bishnu Ragoonath said that Kangaloo’s ability to be impartial is a legitimate concern and Dr Indira Rampersad opines that Kangaloo’s ties to the ruling PNM make her unsuitable for the presidency.

CUTHBERT SANDY

Point Fortin