A few nights ago, Diego Martin North East MP Colm Imbert raised an issue that was previously raised by Senator Faris Al-Rawi about the question of someone being political leader of the PNM and Leader of the Opposition. What both Messrs Imbert and al-Rawi have put into the PNM leadership campaign is the question of whether leadership of a political party must be tied to membership of the House of Representatives.
Mr Imbert challenged Pennelope Beckles-Robinson to indicate to PNM members how she intended to handle this dichotomy if she were to win the leadership contest. He framed the issue of party leadership in the context of being an MP and singled out Nileung Hypolite, the MP for Laventille West, who is supporting Ms Beckles-Robinson, as a possible leader of the opposition if she were to win.
That is faulty logic, because the Leader of the Opposition must be the MP who can command the support of the largest number of MPs who do not support the Government.One would presume that Mr Hypolite might be alone in feeling he fits the bill. Or is he?Nevertheless, the point that Mr Imbert raised on Wednesday night is worthy of further inquiry.
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