Supporters who were eager to hear an election date at the United National Congress’ 26th Anniversary Celebration in Couva yesterday left disappointed last night, after Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar revealed she had no intention of calling an early election. Addressing thousands of flag waving supporters at Rienzi Complex, Persad-Bissessar said she will not follow her predecessor, Patrick Manning, by calling elections before time.
“Today, speculation is all over that I am going to announce the election date today. But listen carefully, the last time a man tried that he lost the election when he called it before time. “I say my track record speaks for itself. We have held every single election within time, according to the laws of T&T,” she shouted while trumpets blasted and horns blared.
She added, “Today, I say I will continue to comply with the law. I give you the assurance that I will call the elections when the elections are constitutionally due under the law.” Sending a message to Opposition leader Dr Keith Rowley, who has repeatedly demanded the election date, Persad Bissessar said nobody will force her to call elections early.
“No one will jumbie me to call an election before it is due. They could jump high, they could jump low, no election date will be announced before it is due. They could bark and shout, we will call it when it is due,” she said.
Persad Bissessar also took Rowley to task, saying he was using Parliamentary privilege to bring members of Government into disrepute. But saying that Government planned to move a motion of censure against Rowley in Parliament, Persad-Bissessar said this will be one of the ways of ensuring that people’s characters are protected.
“I have instructed the leader of the House, Dr Roodal Moonilal, to file his motion of censure and we will call on the House for Rowley to be suspended from the services of the House,” Persad-Bissessar said. Saying that Rowley should not be allowed to use Parliament to impugn office holders, the PM vowed to deal with Rowley within the confines of the Parliament.
Referring to the E-mailgate scandal, Persad-Bissessar also called on the police to clear the air and announce publicly whether the series of e-mails read in Parliament by Rowley in May 2013 were true.
The e-mails implicated Persad-Bissessar, former attorney general Anand Ramlogan and Local Government Minister Suruj Rambachan in conspiracies against the Director of Public Prosecutions and a reporter, as well as allegations of the payment of monies in exchange for freedom of former financiers.
However, Persad-Bissessar said there is proof the e-mails were fabricated and she called on the police to take action against Rowley for misleading the country. “I have legally all the Google records pursuant to a court order in the case filed by the Integrity Commission and all the e-mails for the month of September which Rowley sent out were fake.
“Not a single e-mail remotely resembled anything that he read. Three sources have said there is no substance, no truth and no basis for the fake e-mails that Rowley read. We gave full authority to disclose those records and tonight I call on the police to state whether there was any e-mail as Rowley said,” Persad-Bissessar said.
Predicting that Rowley will pay the price for his mischief, she said as T&T goes into elections the truth should be made known. “Should the conclusion of the report indicate that the contents of the e-mail were fake and criminal proceedings undertaken, the Opposition leader must immediately resign from his seat,” she said.
During the celebrations, several UNC founders, including Basdeo Panday, John Humphrey, Dr Allan Mc Kenzie, Trevor Sudama, Lloyd Williams and Rampersad Parasram, were lauded. Panday failed to show up as he indicated before, but his proteges said his contribution to the UNC will always be remembered. Supporters were also treated to music from Raymond Ramnarine & Dil-E-Nadan.
Rowley dangerous says Moonilal
United National Congress deputy political leader Dr Roodal Moonilal has sent out a message to fenceline voters, warning them that Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley is a dangerous man who cannot be trusted with power. Moonilal was speaking as the party celebrated its 26th anniversary at its Rienzi Complex, Couva headquarters yesterday.
Party founder Basdeo Panday was a no show, but other stalwarts, including founder John Humfrey, first chairman Rampersad Parasram, former Arima candidate Carol Merrick and Lloyd Williams and Dr Allan Mc Kenzie, attended the festivities. Moonilal, who joined the party as a youth officer, said although the PNM has always made promises, it is Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar who has always delivered on her promises.
“This party has been founded on the principle of equality, national unity and social justice. That is the reason that the UNC is the only party that can build coalition governments and occupy office.”
Saying the People’s National Movement (PNM) had destroyed the health, education and agricultural sectors, Moonilal said the PP would need another five years to continue its work. He said for those who were uncertain about who to support, it is clear that Rowley did not have the best interest of the country at heart. “I warned T&T that Keith Rowley is a clear danger to this country,” he said.
Moonilal said Friday was a horrific day as Rowley filed a motion of no confidence in Finance Minister Larry Howai and quoted from a document of a legal opinion by a prominent queen’s counsel from Barbados, Sr Henry Forde, QC. He said Howai rose afterward and told Rowley that he and the party had gone out of his way and contacted the lawyer in Barbados to verify the information. But Moonilal said Forde told them he did not know Howai and had never written the document.
Slamming Rowley for not checking his facts, Moonilal said Rowley was irresponsible and reckless. He also slammed Independent Liberal Party (ILP) leader Jack Warner, saying he was portraying himself as a corruption buster while facing international scrutiny for corruption.