Hopefully, 'political coat' can be shed by Kangaloo

THE EDITOR: The choice of the seventh President is now history with the election of Christine Kangaloo by the Electoral College.

I think it is only fair that the population gives the second female in succession chosen for the highest office of the land a chance to prove herself worthy of the post. There has been a great deal of furor about her close association with the ruling PNM but the question arises: Is there anyone who can be singled out in this small country of ours without some kind of political affiliation?

As long as one is in the "know" about what is happening or keeping up with developments in TT he/she will have some kind of political preference. The only distinction is that some people are openly associated to a party by way of their actions, while others are more subtle in their associations.

It is the former for Kangaloo, since she has played many roles in the politics as opposition senator, government senator and minister under the PNM. Hence it is easy for people to say that the President-elect would be bias towards that party.

With the party in power having 38 MPs and senators versus 25 Opposition MPs and senators, it is a foregone conclusion that the ruling party's choice will be the chosen one. This is unfortunate.

There are nine Independent senators and as we have seen in the past, the tendency is to vote for the ruling party's choice. So it boils down to being more of a selection than an election.

This is why the call for constitutional reform, which has been repeated many times by ex-PM Basdeo Panday, is more relevant now than ever before.

In any event, as has been said before, it is hoped that the new President will be able to shed the "political coat" and uphold the highest office of the land with fairness, fearlessness, dignity and compassion.

Congratulations to the seventh President of the republic, Christine Kangaloo.

WKS HOSEIN

Chaguanas