PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Energy Minister Stuart Young has the support of Planning Minister Pennelope Beckles, whom he edged out in a vote by People’s National Movement (PNM) MPs, to be Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley’s successor.
After the ruling party’s General Council meeting, scheduled for Saturday afternoon to discuss the leadership succession issue, Beckles declared loyal to the PNM.
“I have challenged the leadership before, but I got the opportunity to serve in the Cabinet again. So we understand that things like that happen, but the critical thing is that as somebody who has served a very long time, starting in local government, the party always comes first,” the Arima MP told reporters on Friday.
Days after Prime Minister Rowley announced his intention to resign before his government’s term ended, he said the PNM’s parliamentary caucus had endorsed Young for the party’s leadership. He reportedly got 11 votes to Beckles’ nine, and some MPs who supported her have not signed the endorsement letter for Young.
“You know it was Minister Young and myself, and one of the important things, as persons who have been in the politics for a very long time, especially myself, my commitment is to the party; loyalty to the party,” Beckles said on Friday.
Meanwhile, PNM General Secretary Foster Cummings has endorsed Young and urged party members to unite and support his selection.
In a message to members before Saturday’s meeting, he said: “We are the PNM, the strongest and most resilient political party in the region. Only as a united team will we continue to be great. We are in an election year, so we need all hands on deck, working together as a united force.
“As General Secretary, I urge all party members to work with us as we continue to bring good governance to Trinidad and Tobago. We have selected the Party Chairman and MP for POS North as the members to succeed Dr Rowley as Prime Minister, and he has my full support. Great is the PNM, and we shall prevail. Let’s do this,” it stated.
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