Bloodless coup claim, an insult

THE EDITOR: Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s claim of a “bloodless coup” was a calculated insult to the intelligence of the electorate. She knows full well our Constitution does not require a general election when a prime minister steps down, yet she deliberately peddled this clain to manufacture outrage.

This is not the behaviour of a responsible political leader.

The rules governing prime ministerial succession in a parliamentary democracy are neither complex nor mysterious.

The Constitution – specifically Section 76(1)(a) – makes it clear: the President must appoint as prime minister, the person who commands majority support in the House of Representatives.

This is not a loophole or an abuse of power, it is the fundamental structure of our system, the same one Persad-Bissessar operated under when she was in government.

Her attempts to frame this routine process as an “assault on democracy” would be laughable if they weren’t so cynical. In the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson was replaced by Liz Truss and when Truss resigned, Rishi Sunak took over – all without a general election.

In Canada, when Stephen Harper stepped down, his party chose a successor, just as parties do across the Commonwealth. Was democracy under attack in these cases? Of course not! But Persad-Bissessar assumes Trinibagonians are uninformed to recognise this.

Her theatrics, boycotting the swearing-in while crying “dictatorship,” are nothing more than cheap political drama.

If the Opposition genuinely believes Stuart Young is unfit for office, they should challenge him on governance and policy. Instead, they rely on constitutional misinformation, hoping to stir baseless fear.

This is not leadership. It is a calculated effort to erode public trust in our democratic institutions, all for the sake of political expediency. Trinidad and Tobago deserves better than an Opposition that insults the electorate while masquerading as its champion.

MICHAEL EDMUND DHANN

Via e-mail