Kamla: UNC to kick off election campaign in September

ALTHOUGH the Prime Minister says there will be no election in November, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar is giving notice that the United National Congress (UNC) will launch its election campaign in September.

Elections are constitutionally due in 2025.

As she wound up the UNC pre-budget consultation at her Siparia constituency office in Penal on August 21, Persad-Bissessar prophesied that her party would win and form the next government.

“We will hit the ground running. Although the Prime Minister said no election will be held in November, it may be called in December.

“Whenever it is called December, we ready for you. January, February, we are ready.”

She told the audience that the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) had no achievements to boast about, and the constitutional reform report was the ‘gimmick document’ they would use to try to woo supporters.

“The Constitution Reform Review is all about PNM campaigning and election. It is not about you.

“This is why they have rejected the most critical recommendations coming out of the Barry Sinanan-led-committee, with conducted national consultations throughout the country.

“Proportional representation, two-term limits, because they want to voter pad through the housing development in marginal constituencies, which will become irrelevant with proportional representation.

“They want to stay in office for life with no term limits and manipulate the election process.” Quoting Dr Rowley that 700 people attended the national consultations, Persad-Bissessar asked, “You know how many people it have in TT? 1.4 million.”

An audience member shouted that this amounts to 0.05 of the population.

“And the Prime Minister said this is a good figure. The UNC consultations had more people than that,” she boasted, stating that people were seeing through the PNM gimmicks.

“People want cost of living reform, not gimmick constitution reform. They want education reform. They want better than a four per cent wage increase, back pay, VAT returns.

“The PNM has no achievement to campaign on, so they will use the gimmick constitution review and exploiting ethnic divisions, stoking irrational fear about the UNC and political gimmickry.

“They will politically exploit reparations by trying to stir up emotions to cause divisive rhetoric. They will remove pre-independence symbols and names, weaponising emotionally sensitive ethnic issues.”

She cautioned, “Don’t go down that ethnic division rabbit hole that Rowley and the PNM are trying to take you into.”

Referring to plans to change the image of the coat of arms by removing Columbus’s three ships and replacing it with the pan, she cautioned that PNM’s continuing talk about the steelpan, Christopher Columbus and the tassa is merely a distraction.

“Because they don’t want you to talk about murder, about five-year-old Anika Guerra, who was murdered along with her father at Moruga on Tuesday night. She was shot five times.

“Rowley and the PNM don’t want you talking about eight-year-old Nelisha Narine, who died from dengue after being sent home from the health centre.

“The PNM has created history in the last nine years, a history that cannot continue.

“The PNM has created the worst crime rate in our history, the highest food prices in our history. We are paying the highest gas prices in our history.

“This is the worst-performing economy in our history. We have the highest unemployment rate in our history, particularly youth unemployment at 14 per cent.”

She told supporters to speak to everyone about the UNC, whether they represent the red, yellow or blue party.

“Because they are suffering just like you. You may have more that unites than divides you,” she said as she urged them to get ready for the next general elections.