Tabaquite MP Anita Haynes-Alleyne yesterday joined the short list of United National Congress MPs in support of colleague Rushton Paray’s call for internal party elections to be called.
Speaking on CNC3’s The Morning Brew programme yesterday, Haynes-Alleyne disagreed that Paray’s call for internal elections was an attack or an attempt to destabilise the party.
However, she said she also supports Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar as party leader.
“I think that any interpretation of a call for internal elections as an attack is a strange interpretation. As a matter of fact, I saw a number of press releases from my colleagues saying that they support Mrs Persad-Bissessar. I too support Mrs Persad-Bissessar, because she is the duly elected political leader of the UNC, but to use your position, to use any position if you are currently on the executive, that you would have benefited from an internal elections to hold that position, to use that space to now say internal elections are unnecessary unwarranted or prevents us from winning a general election when it is called, I think all of those things are a misuse of the space that you hold.”
Haynes-Alleyne said an internal election would only invigorate the party and put them on a stronger footing to fight the upcoming general election against the People’s National Movement (PNM).
She had a message for her colleagues, “The best way to show that you support Persad-Bissessar, is to also call for the internal election so that you can support her with your vote. Supporting her with a press release is inconsequential. The best way to show your support for a political entity is to be able to vote for them.”
She added that she was prepared to stand any consequences by her decision to speak up.
Naparima MP Rodney Charles and Cumuto/Manzanilla MP Dr Rai Ragbir have also stood with Paray in the call for international elections. However, all the other MPs, Senators and councillors have attacked Paray for his decision to challenge the party leadership in the Natex election.
Contacted for comment on the developing situation within the party yesterday, political analyst Dr Indira Rampersad said she did not believe the internal squabble by party members over internal elections will negatively impact the party at the polls.
However, she believes Paray’s actions could cost him his seat.
Rampersad said, “I think the political leader is selecting her candidates for the general election. I don’t think Mr Paray is critical to the process. He is an MP who can be replaced when his term is over. He is an elected MP, so that if he resigns now they can do a by-election and have another MP.”
She added that it may be difficult for Persad-Bissessar and Paray’s colleagues to work with him, as the issue of trust and loyalty will arise.
“He may fall to the same fate as many other detractors. It is difficult for the leader to work now with that kind of dissension.”
Another political analyst, Derek Ramsamooj, noted that the overarching theme or rationale for the call for new leadership was that of winnability at the next election.
“Any political party that is ascribing to win the election to hold government must have the capacity to attract new voters and the undecided voters within the marginal constituencies. Therefore, the issue is not that of personality, the issue is if your leadership has the capacity to win the required seats to create a functioning government.”
On whether Paray will face any repercussions for his stance, he said, “Unless your political leader is democratic in their values and respects the processes of their party, if such a leader does not share democratic values, you will have consequences to anyone who challenges insecure leaders.”
Opining that the country deserves new leadership, Ramsamooj said a political party’s future cannot be held to ransom by the insecurity of leaders whose ego become more important than the interest of the country.