Dear Editor,
There is an interesting development in Trinidad regarding the method of choosing a leader of a political party and by extension its Prime Ministerial candidate. The small COP, a third party to the larger UNC and PNM, holds elections to choose a leader on Jul 3. The incumbent Winston Dookeran, who led the UNC for a year, is not seeking reelection. The method of selecting the leader offers some contrast with the way party leaders are chosen in Guyana.
The UNC uses the one man one vote method among its members. The PNM uses the delegate system where communities send a delegate to the national convention. The PNM leader says he wants to move to the open membership method when his term ends in four years. The COP uses the UNC’s method of membership vote. But the COP has added an innovation. It is holding a series of leadership debates among the four candidates seeking the position allowing members to quiz the candidates.
The contest had drawn very little interest until the debates began less than a week ago.
The debates have now generated greater interest in the election among the population. Almost every respondent in a NACTA poll supports the debates and is calling for the same for other parties holding internal elections. Parties in Guyana should consider opening up their internal elections to the general membership of the party to give members a voice on who will be their party’s executive and who should be their party’s presidential candidate.
The latest NACTA poll findings in Trinidad show deputy leader and Legal Affairs Minister Prakash Ramadhar has retained the edge over his colleagues but there is a narrowing of the contest between him and COP Communications Director and Sports Minister Anil Roberts – making it in effect a two horse contest. Vice Chairman Vernon Delima and animal rights activist Ms. Nalini Dial are dark horses with limited chances of capturing the leadership position.
Voters feel Anil and Prakash are the best two candidates to lead the COP which the poll finds has been rapidly losing almost all of its support to the UNC. And most voters feel either one will make a good leader for the fledgling party. But the party cannot win a seat on its own.
While Prakash is in the lead, the race is still two weeks away and Anil is putting in a strong rearguard action especially among the youths in the East West corridor. The coveted prize is still up for grabs.
Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram
