While former prime minister and leader of the PNM Patrick Manning has indicated his readiness and willingness to extend his record 43 years as the parliamentary representative for San Fernando East in the next general election, there is no guarantee he will be nominated or selected.Constituency PRO Anthony Clarke said according to the party's constitution the consent to be nominated was only the first part of the process.
He said only when an individual submitted a consent letter would the party groups have a pool from which to chose from and forward for screening.The constituency remains divided over Manning's decision to vie for the position of MP having spent considerable time during this term of office out of the Parliament due to ill health.
As of yesterday, Manning was the only candidate to have offered himself for nomination following the new February 6 deadline set for nominees, after three candidates–Kenny Phillips, Eber Steele-Attong and Christopher Chinapoo–were rejected at last Thursday's screening at the South regional office."All he (Manning) has done is indicated he is willing to be nominated.
"Party groups still have an option of either nominating him or not and then the screening committee will still have the option of screening all nominees put up by the party groups," Clarke explain.Manning failed to meet the December 24 deadline for nomination pending a medical assessment to determine his preparedness for electoral politics and he sought an extension. The party denied the extension and general secretary Ashton Forde appealed to the executive to abide with them.
Yesterday Forde, a member of the screening committee, refused to be drawn into offering any opinion about Manning's suitability to be a candidate.He said once nomination was open, any member was eligible to seek nomination and all it required was the recommendation of one party group.
MORE INFO
First public speech in three years
On Monday night, Manning, given a new lifeline to serve as an MP, surprised many of his constituents when he walked to the podium at the Pleasantville Community Centre to make his first public address since he suffered a stroke in January 2012.He began his 15-minute discourse, which was punctuated by lusty applause, apologising for his slurred speech saying: "My speech is not the best but it could work."
He said he had intended to address them on January 2 after nomination closed to advise them he had decided to bow out and name a successor.However, he said, earlier this year he observed a positive dramatic turnaround in his health and after the nomination was extended decided to toss his hat into the political ring."The way I feel now is leaps and bounds over how I felt, even on January 2," he told the audience, which included his wife Hazel.
He said his doctor, who he met last Saturday, "was taken aback with the progress made since our previous visit. In short, the news on the health front, for me, is very, very good. I too am astonished."He said he saw his private Washington-based doctor during her visit to her native Trinidad on December 24 and she advised while he had made tremendous strides he was not completely healed.