Ford: New blood needed to rebuild PNM party

Former PNM general secretary Ashton Ford says new blood is the only hope for the PNM and cautioned the new political leader not to appoint those who lost in the April 28 general election in the Parliament as senators.

The PNM lost the 2025 general election to the United National Congress and its coalition of interests 26-13, while the Tobago People's Party won the two Tobago seats. Over 100,000 people who traditionally voted for the PNM stayed away from the polls.

Ford, a former mayor of Arima, told Newsday he was there in 1986 to witness the PNM being defeated by the National Alliance for Reconstruction, winning only three of 36 seats, and the subsequent resignation of former prime minister George Chambers, which led to an internal election.

Ford said he lost the internal election and the late Patrick Manning was elected political leader.

He believes Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles would not have any competition for the leadership of the party in the upcoming party internal election and said, just as Manning dismissed the “old guard” at the time, it was necessary for Beckles to bring in new faces.

He said the lack of support in the 1986 general election showed people did not want the old guard.

“The party members who didn’t vote sent a message and he brought in (former PM Dr Keith) Rowley, Wendell Mottley and all these people. And that’s what we’re hoping for. Because if she put the losers, like Faris (Al-Rawi), and they, in the Senate, they will be answering questions about their term in office.”

Former PNM vice-chairman Robert Le Hunte said there was a lot of excitement surrounding the convention and the internal elections.

“There is a lot of excitement about the whole idea of putting a new executive team in place to start the rebuilding of the PNM. I think everyone is anxious to have the membership go back to convention and let the members decide the way forward.”

He said people were rallying around Beckles as they appreciated her disposition, experience and leadership style. He said people believed she was what the party needed now.

“The party is a democratic party and, although at this point I am not aware, I suspect, there will always be people who will have their own political aspirations. That is also welcomed because democracy is good.”

Beckles will have to appoint six senators before new Parliamentary session convenes on May 23.

Dawn of a new era

On April 30, Beckles, the Arima MP, was nominated by the PNM's 12 elected MPs to become opposition leader.

In 2014, she contested the party’s leadership but lost to Rowley. And on January 6, the PNM parliamentary caucus was split 11-9 to support Stuart Young as PM-designate. Beckles got the support of nine colleagues.

Rowley stepped down as PM on March 16 and resigned as political leader effective May 1. Young formally replaced him as PM on March 17 and called the general election the following day.

Following the PNM resounding defeat, Rowley resigned as the party's political leader, Young resigned as chairman, as well as the deputy political leader Rohan Sinanan, the party's campaign manager, and the appointments of Nyan Gadsby-Dolly and Colm Imbert as deputy political leaders were revoked.

The party's general secretary Foster Cummings, who has been under fire from PNM supporters, later said he had not been consulted or supported the campaign strategy in the 2025 general election which primarily focussed on Young's achievements.

Speaking at the ceremony after receiving her instrument of appointment on May 6 at the President’s House in St Ann’s, Beckles said her appointment would herald a new era of opposition leadership defined by accountability, collaboration and a steadfast commitment to national development.

“Like many citizens and, indeed, the 69-year-old institution that is the PNM, this daughter of the soil knows what it is to be sidelined, silenced and sometimes rejected.

“Through every challenge, I have stayed the course with resilience, only possible through God’s grace. Today, through the crucible of struggle, I have emerged with a simple, profound mission to contribute to TT’s development in the best version of itself.”

On May 6, the party's general council appointed Gadsby-Dolly and Imbert as chairman and vice-chairman to assist the threadbare party's executive to elect a new executive.

Building relationships

On May 16 at a press briefing at Balisier House, Port of Spain, Al-Rawi, the PNM public relations officer, said the party's general council met that day and it was agreed that a special party convention will take place on June 29 and the new executive, including the post of political leader, will be chosen by party members casting ballots in 41 constituencies on June 22.

The results of the election will be announced at the convention.

He said of the approximately 100 people present, no one voted against the special convention date and there were two abstentions. Also, all 16 posts in the party would be up for election including chairman, general secretary, treasurer, PRO, education officer, elections officer, youth officer and social media officer.

Though Ford was confident of Beckles securing the party leadership, he said she could not sit around and expect people to come to her. He said when coming out of such loss, those in the leadership had to work hard to rebuild the party. He said if Beckles did this, in time, people’s confidence and hope in the party would be rebuilt.

“What she has to do is what the other leaders had to do in the past – she has to go around, meet the people of the constituencies, build relationships with the membership on the ground, build back the party and work towards reinforcing the party and constituency groups. There is no other way.”

Since her appointment Beckles has been doing just that. She has been active in various communities, including attending a birthday party of centenarian in Belmont, an appreciation dinner in Tabaquite, meeting with Point Fortin constituency executive and attending the Eucharistic Congress 2025 at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain.

Calls and messages to Beckles, Cummings, Gadsby-Dolly, Imbert and Jennifer Baptiste-Primus went unanswered, while Port of Spain Mayor Chinua Alleyne advised Newsday to speak to the general secretary on the matter. His mother, Petronella Manning-Alleyne, an influential member of the party and sister of the former PNM political leader, declined comment, saying that she was not a member of the general council and that Alleyne had contested the position of chairman of the party. He narrowly missed out after Gadsby-Dolly got 60 votes while he got 58.

There were four spoilt ballots and a subsequent query about the validity of two votes from Dr Amery Browne and the defeated Toco/Sangre Grande MP Roger Monroe.