Internal elections for the Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP) will be held at the end of this month, political leader Ashworth Jack announced at Tuesday's bi-monthly minority leader's news conference.Jack said nominations opened on Monday and all positions, including political leader, would be contested.
Elections for the post of TOP political leader are not constitutionally due until later this year, but Jack says they are being held now because the party acts on democracy."I have agreed to allow the position of political leader to be contested for a number of reasons," he said."In the last two years, we have developed a party from scratch to where we are here today and I want, in the spirit of democracy, to give anyone who wishes to contest the position the opportunity to do so," he said.
Jack said he was seeking re-election and was not afraid of losing the position. He said he worked hard for the party and there were members within the party who realised this."I am seeking re-election as political leader of the TOP, so I want to make it absolutely clear that I do not own the TOP and I am not afraid of going to an election," he said."There has been no political leader in the past ten to 15 years in Tobago that has taken the party as far as this political leader has taken it in such a short space of time."