PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC -The ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) will present its 41 candidates on Sunday to contest the general elections scheduled for no later than November this year but widely expected to be held much earlier.
PNM chairman Stuart Young, who is expected to take over the government’s leadership on March 16, told reporters that the candidates will be presented at a special ruling party convention at Woodford Square, in the heart of the capital.
“What we tell the population here today is the battle lines have been drawn, and the PNM has joined the battle, once again leading at the front. So we look forward to seeing you all at Woodford Square. Come at 2.00 pm on Sunday, and you will see a magnificent presentation of a class of 41 individuals,” Young said, following a PNM General Council meeting on Monday night.
Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has already indicated that he will step down as head of government on March 16, and Young brushed aside questions about the date for the general election.
“You all could ask the question in 20 different ways; you are not going to get an answer,” Young said.
“The pocket has not changed yet. So let us wait, and you will see, as you all have been following, as it unfolds every step of the way, with no hiccups on our part.
“Let us get to Sunday; let us get to March 16. The political Leader and prime minister (Rowley) will tell us on the sixteenth, and then we will see what happens thereafter,” he added.
The PNM won the 2020 general elections by a 22-19 margin, defeating the main opposition United National Congress (UNC), headed by Kamla Persad Bissessar, the first woman to serve as head of a government here. The PNM defeated her coalition, the People’s Partnership government, in the 2015 general election.
Asked by reporters why the PNM had broken with tradition and presented candidates with no known election date, Young said the ruling party has always led from the front, has always set the standard and the pace, “and all you are seeing is that rolling out,” which started in January of this year.
“The People’s National Movement is doing what is necessary for the population to see 41 candidates for a general election that will be called anytime between now and November this year,” he said.
Young also dismissed the possibility of a legal challenge by the UNC to his becoming prime minister after Rowley retires from active politics after 45 years.
“I can’t speak for the UNC. We know what we are doing, and I will not speculate. That is not how I am. We will go along with the course. One thing I will say about us is we will always follow the law.”
Speaking at a political meeting on Monday night, Persad Bissessar called on Prime Minister Rowley to dissolve the parliament and call the general election.
“I am warning you, should you proceed recklessly, Rowley, you, Stuart Young and the President would face the brilliant UNC lawyers in the courthouse of Trinidad and Tobago.
“You cannot proceed under section 76 (1) of the Constitution where there is, occasion to appoint a prime minister, that the president should appoint a member of the house who is the leader of the House,” she said, adding that “Rowley wants to go, but wants to keep one foot in the door. He said he will resign as prime minister but will remain party leader”.
The UNC leader said that Rowley must follow the Constitution.
“Rowley 76 (1) (in the Constitution), the word leader is spelled with a capital L. When the Constitution was changed, they changed it from Leader with a standard l to Leader with a capital L, which can only be the Leader of the party in the house, Rowley.
“And then you cannot proceed under 76 (b) Rowley; you can’t go over 76 (b) either because that says, where it appears to the president, the party does not have an undisputed leader.
“As long as Rowley holds on to the leadership, there is a disputed leader. So, you cannot proceed under 76 (1) A or B.
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