United National Congress deputy leader Roodal Moonilal and Senator Anil Roberts will today reinforce the party’s position against Government’s choice of Christine Kangaloo as President-designate.
Yesterday, UNC Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee issued a statement on Kangaloo, a former PNM PaP MP.
Lee, said, “Just as my constituents rejected Christine Kangaloo as their MP 13 years ago, citizens must reject her nomination as President, as it threatens the most important office that’s supposed to be free from all political interference or bias.
“Citizens who value the preservation and sanctuary of our national independent institutions must be alarmed while those ‘who don’t have eyes to see’ will feel’ if Ms Kangaloo is appointed given her well-known entrenchment within the partisan politics of the PNM, her track record of protecting the PNM status quo and even more troubling, her career as a PNM political representative.”
Lee said it wasn’t a question of her professional background, “but of her political ability to put country and Constitution ahead of Balisier House partisan politics.”
Lee claimed Kangaloo’s “politically maligned history will erode independence and reduce public confidence” in all state institutions under the President’s office.
“How can we appoint Ms Kangaloo to our highest office after acts against Jwala Rambarran were deemed by the court to have ‘breached the fundamental principles of justice and be illegal?’ How can we appoint someone to be a President for all, while in the past, public questions have been asked by the Opposition in the public domain on her equitable treatment towards the minority within the Senate?”
Udecott fights to get
House ready for nomination
Repairs to the fallen ceiling moulding in the House of Representatives chamber at the Red House are near completion and Udecott has secured the services of a company to certify the integrity of the job, hoping that the chamber can be used for the January 20 election of a new President.
Senior Udecott officials confirmed this yesterday.
The country’s seventh president will be elected on January 20.
The People’s National Movement Government has nominated current Senate President Christine Kangaloo. The Opposition United National Congress has nominated senior counsel Israel Khan.
The House of Representative (HOR) chamber, on the Red House’s north wing, has been closed since last November, after a piece of moulding from the ceiling dislodged due to air conditioning condensation issues, Udecott said.
HOR members have used the Senate’s south chamber since then. The HOR chamber was projected to be ready in “short order.” Just after Christmas, the T&T Guardian was told the chamber was almost ready and the Christmas break had affected pace.
Yesterday, when the T&T Guardian checked again with Parliament officials on whether the HOR chamber would be ready for use for the January 20 election of a President, they said, “Ask Udecott ...”
Senior Udecott officials subsequently said the work is near completion and Parliament has requested a structural engineer to certify and sign off on the moulding’s integrity. They said a firm has been hired for this.
“Hopefully, all works and consultants’ certification will be completed by January 20,” Udecott officials added.
They maintained there was no cost to Government for the job, since repairs fell under “defects liability.” They added that the engineer’s cost will be handled by Udecott, with a projection of reimbursement by the “contractor and/or consultant.”
Election day process ...
For the election of Trinidad and Tobago’s seventh President, both Government and Opposition will deliver to the Electoral College, three days before January 20, information in support of their respective nominees.
On January 20, when the Electoral College—comprising both Houses of Parliament—meets, a “roll call” of all members present will first be taken. Nominees will be announced and signatories to their respective nomination forms.
A speaker from each side will have 15 minutes to present the case for their nominee. Election is then done via secret ballot and a simple majority vote.
The last time there were two nominees was in 2003, when the PNM government nominated George Maxwell Richards and the Opposition UNC nominated Ganace Ramdial. Also, in 1997, the UNC government nominated Arthur NR Robinson and the PNM Opposition nominated Justice Anthony Lucky.