Nalini Dial, the first female candidate to vie for the leadership position of the Congress of the People (COP), says if the five-year-old party is to move forward, it must stand on its own. Dial, who launched her political campaign yesterday, said she was uncertain about COP's future within the People's Partnership (PP) Government, as she believed it should maintain its own identity. She said: "I did not really join a party to be of another, so I as leader will want to see us standing on our own two feet."
Dial was speaking yesterday at a media conference at the COP's Arima office. Making specific reference to the Mary King issue, Dial warned that under her leadership anyone found guilty of corruption would be fired. She said the time had come for the COP to return to its founding principles, which she said Dookeran fought hard to establish. "I come from amongst them. I sit where they sit. I feel what they feel. I am the membership and we are the future," she said.
The animal rights activist will be competing on July 3 against Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, Anil Roberts, COP vice-chairman Vernon de Lima and MP for St Augustine and Minister of Legal Affairs Prakash Ramadhar for the leadership of the COP. Last month, COP political leader, Winston Dookeran, announced he was not seeking re-election for the position but would remain as Minister of Finance in the PP and Member of Parliament for Tunapuna.