Embattled Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) leader Watson Duke has now called on Trinidad for help and participation in Tobago’s affairs.
“Trinidad, I call upon you for help, I call upon you to participate in the affairs of Tobago. Let us not allow Farley (Augustine) and his friends to steal the democratic rights and democratic will of Tobagonians,” Duke said yesterday in his latest address on his Facebook page.
Duke was speaking about the rift between himself and Tobago House of Assembly Chief Secretary Farley Augustine and other Assemblymen, who recently resigned from the PDP on the eve of their one-year anniversary of victory in THA polls last December. They’ve all deemed themselves Independents.
Yesterday, Duke said he’d called on THA Presiding Officer Abby Taylor to declare their 13 seats vacant but is yet to receive a response in the form of a letter. However, he said he expected her “... to do the honourable thing and vacate those seats.”
Duke added, “Tobagonians never voted for ‘Independents’. Independents never campaigned or spent resources. They spoke from PDP platforms, held PDP banners, wore PDP jerseys - and one year later, because I called on them to follow the mandate or leave, they chose to leave and become ‘Independents’.”
Duke said independent politicians are without any party or structure.
“They operate alone - they’re lone wolves ...” he said.
Duke said the 13 elected Assemblymen have “multiplied” to 16 when they added councillors appointed by Augustine.
“So, 16 Independents against one PDP Assemblyman and one PNM Assemblyman in (THA’s) House - it’s really a twisted day for justice,” Duke said.
“With all that power they wield, it’s a sad day for our democracy as today or tomorrow, persons belonging to the PNM red party or the yellow party - UNC - can decide to seize power from either party and would call themselves independents.”
Duke said nowhere in the Commonwealth history had such a situation occurred. He said in anticipation of something like this former Prime Minister Dr Eric Williams “and the-then Opposition presented law that if those who entered the House of Representatives on a party ticket resigned from the party, they must vacate the seat and a bye-election be held.”
Citing that law - Section 49 (2.E) of the Constitution - Duke added, “I throw my hands in the air and say the law will protect its people and itself.”
Duke didn’t subscribe to arguments that the THA could have different law. He said he believed the supreme law is the law of Trinidad and Tobago and is the modus operandi for all , whether central government or a quasi-government, like the THA.
“We have to be very careful what we allow in the Tobago space. In a small space as that, history will tell it’s very important that you allow people to follow party lines, because one man alone can be dangerous, much less 13 people acting independently can be extremely dangerous to Tobagonians,” he added, calling for Trinidad to help.
Duke said if the THA Act doesn’t recognise political parties, “could the political will of the Assemblyman be more supreme than the democratic will of the electorate? If so, then we’ve created a recipe for a totalitarian country. This country won’t be a democratic one with a country by absolute rule.”
He added, “We cannot allow those who are leading the country to claim to be Independents, thus abandoning any commitment to the people. They’ll say, ‘I never told you that’, ‘You can’t hold me to nothing’.”