Duke: PDP will not contest Jan 12 THA polls

ALVA VIARRUEL

WATSON DUKE yesterday confirmed reports that his Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) will not contest the January 12 Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections and will instead support the ruling Tobago People’s Party (TPP).

Well, sort of. Though he acknowledged the light of the flambeaux, his party’s symbol, has been diminished significantly, Duke was coy in responding to questions from reporters as to whether or not his party will in fact be offering a slate of candidates to the electorate.

As he encouraged Spartan calls from several supporters standing behind him at the lectern during a media conference outside his Port Mall, Scarborough, office, Duke spoke with much bravado, using parables and quoting scripture without attribution.

He claimed it was a phone call from Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, the leader of the TPP – whom he called son at times and then brother at times in his 20-minute discourse – which caused him to reflect that it was more important to stop the People’s National Movement from returning to office. So, rather than splitting votes, he took the decision to support “my younger brother.”

He said after the call, “I slept on it, I rolled on it, I prayed on it and I say you can’t abandon family. Farley has my support, on behalf of the PDP Spartans, Farley has our support. We will be going on the highways and the byways, the nooks and the crannies. We will be looking for the forgotten people, those who have been alienated, those who have been marginalised and sidelined,” to bring home all 15 seats to the TPP.

Duke also acknowledged, however, the hurt and pain he suffered when he was ousted by those whom he grafted into the “grassroots” political organisation that the PDP was, and promised to forgive but not to forget. The TPP was formed after all PDP assemblymen broke ranks with Duke and sided with Augustine to create the new political entity.

Duke claimed to still be “the one standing in defence of the defenceless” and told supporters they were “the salt of the earth” and never to forget that because “if salt was to lose its saltiness it would be good for nothing but to be trampled under the feet of men,” a reference to Matthew 5:13.

Duke recalled that “Farley and I have joined hands together since 2016 and there is no separation. He look like he daddy and act like he daddy…there is no coalition, no amalgamation, we remain one. Tobago must win…we’re one group…if Farley wins we win,” he declared.

But pressed as to whether he was encouraging his supporters to vote TPP. Duke responded “the headlines you’re asking for you will not get from me, you write it.”

“Farley,” he stated, “is my younger brother…we had big dreams together but somehow in life they’re not congruent but not because a dream start off nice and end up not so nice means you will stop dream.’

“Have you ever had a dream and wake up just a little too early and decide to go back and get back the same dream again?” he asked supporters who responded with a “Yeah!”

“So we’re going back to continue the dream. We must continue the dream. We must keep he dream alive regardless of the fact that the dream didn’t end right,” Duke declared.

“Family is family…as bad as Farley is, he may not answer his phone sometimes, tell you one thing sometimes and a do a next ting, but as bad as he is, he’s still family and we have to stick together until we get it right,” Duke told supporters.

He ended by declaring that together, the PDP and TPP will beat the PNM “black until they blue” a reference to both parties colours.