Paray: I'm sticking with UNC

MAYARO MP Rushton Paray is wishing his former colleague and MP for Cumuto/Manzanilla Dr Rai Ragbir well but will not be following in his footsteps to sever ties from the United National Congress (UNC).

Ragbir resigned from the UNC with effect on March 19, saying the party no longer uphold the values it once represented and was being influenced by individuals whose conduct is “deeply troubling”.

With the election being called and his term of office as MP ending, Ragbir said it was timely for him to exit from a party which has lost its moral compass and strayed from its principles.

To a query on March 19, regarding his resignation if he is not the party’s choice for Mayaro for the April 28 general election, Paray responded with one word.

“No.”

Paray has held the seat since 2015, succeeding Winston “Gypsy” Peters who defected to the People’s National Movement (PNM).

He has been screened to contest the seat. The UNC is yet to announce its slate of candidates even though the date for the 2025 election has been announced.

Party sources said that would be done next Monday and indicated that CEO of the Rio Claro/Mayaro Corporation, Raymond Cozier would be named as the candidate set to replace Paray.

Paray has been at odds with his party and led the United Patriots slate into a resounding defeat in the UNC’s 2024 internal elections.

Ragbir, Chaguanas West MP Dinesh Rambally, Tabaquite’s Anita Haynes-Alleyne, and Rodney Charles, MP for Naparima, aligned with Paray in his call for internal elections to be held when due.

The five campaigned on a platform which called for change in the leadership. Despite the Patriot’s defeat, Paray vowed to stay and fight for change within the party.

Charles said he will not be seeking re-election and Rambally also declined to offer himself as a candidate for the upcoming election.

Paray and Haynes-Alleyne filed nomination papers to contest the constituencies they represented in the last Parliament.

Haynes-Alleyne did not respond to calls or messages from the Newsday about her plans, should she be rejected by the party.

Ahead of the general election, the PNM presented its full slate of 41 candidates at a special convention at Woodford Square, Port of Spain, on March 16, the same day Dr Keith Rowley resigned as prime minister and handed over the baton to Energy Minister Stuart Young to succeed him.

Young announced April 28 as the date for the 2025 election, on March 18, the day after he was sworn in.

The UNC is contesting the election as a coalition of interests with other political and non-political organisations, including the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU). Two labour candidates, Ernesto Kesar and Clyde Elder are contesting the Point Fortin and La Brea seats, respectively, on a UNC ticket.

President general of the OWTU Ancel Roget said the union has always intervened in elections and this year is no different.

While the UNC and OWTU have been on this road before, Roget said all is forgiven as their differences pales in comparison to the sins of the PNM and the country will not survive another five years of PNM governance as Young and his predecessor are two sides of one coin.