Category Archives: Elections

Elections, General T&T, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

Disband the Debates Commission

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By Stephen Kangal
June 08, 2015

Stephen KangalThis proposal of the CIC Debates Commission to host two Leaders Debates involving the PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar and PNM leader, Dr Keith Rowley is clearly indicative of the extent to which the Chamber is fossilized in and slave to the old paradigm and the old politics or order championing talk-talk and more talk. It is this continuing focus on and slavish obeisance to artificial talk that has hindered the rapid development of T&T. We continue to elect eye and ear-servants galore.
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corruption, Elections, General T&T, ILP, International, Media, Opposition Party, Parliament, People's Partnership, Sports, UNC, USA

Shame and scandal, indeed

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By Raffique Shah
June 07, 2015

Raffique ShahCorpus Christi morning, I come awake, latish, closer to seven o’clock. I tune in to BBC television to see what’s happening in the world, since, Thursday being a Christian holiday, the local electronic media stations will have no real news.

I do a double-take, re-check the channel number when, big and bold at the bottom of the screen I see “…Trinidad and Tobago…breaking news…”
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Elections, General T&T, ILP, Money Laundering, Police, Sports

FIFA convenes for election session amidst corruption scandal

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LIVE UPDATES
FIFA is convening to elect a president, choosing between Sepp Blatter and Jordanian Prince Ali bin al-Hussein. If Blatter, currently under pressure over a massive corruption scandal, wins the vote, it will be his fifth term.

Blatter said there would be no problem if ‘two other countries’ – meaning England and the USA – were awarded World Cups in 2018 and 2022
FIFASepp Blatter implied in his president’s address at the FIFA Congress that the £100million corruption scandal was a Western conspiracy. Blatter claimed things would be different if two other countries had emerged from the envelopes.

He meant England for 2018 and USA for 2022 – a dig at the British media who have led the anti-Blatter agenda and the FBI, whose investigations led to seven arrests and 14 officials indicted on bribery and kickback charges by the US Attorney.
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Elections, General T&T, Integrity Commission, Law, Media, Opposition Party, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

Rowley: Hosein’s name on letterhead of PM’s lawyer

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LIES & LETTERS

By Anna Ramdass
May 25, 2015 – trinidadexpress.com

Dr. Keith RowleyIsrael Khan SC has denied a claim by Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley that the letter he (Khan) wrote to the Integrity Commission (IC) demanding that the Emailgate probe be concluded had Zainool Hosein’s name on the letterhead.

Retired Justice Zainool Hosein is chairman of the Integrity Commission and worked in Khan’s Justitia Omnibus Law Chambers as a consultant before he was made chairman of the IC in November 2014.
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Elections, General T&T, Integrity Commission, Law, People's Partnership, PNM, UNC, USA

Ramesh: Not so fast, Kamla

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By Multimedia Desk
May 20, 2015 – trinidadexpress.com

Ramesh Lawrence MaharajFORMER Attorney General and senior counsel Ramesh Lawerence Maharaj on Wednesday issued a statement related to the position taken by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar that she has been vindicated by the letter issued by the Integrity Commission, which terminated its investigation into emailgate. Maharaj’s position is that the letter is not a vindication, and it was premature of her to make such a determination.
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Crime in T&T, Elections, General T&T, Media, Opposition Party, Parliament, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

Deputy DPP slams PM for Emailgate claims: No One Cleared

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By Irving Ward
May 14, 2015 – guardian.co.tt

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-BissessarDeputy Director of Public Prosecutions Joan Honore-Paul last night slammed Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar for her suggestion that she and her colleagues should be cleared in the Emailgate probe, saying the police were far from done with their investigations and the case was still wide open.

She also chastised Persad-Bissessar for releasing contents of reports provided to the police from the US Department of Justice, saying that the treaty under which this information was provided prohibited anyone else other than the national security parties probing the matter to use it.
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Elections, General T&T, Law, Media, Opposition Party, People's Partnership, PNM, UNC

Disregard for rule of law in T&T

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Risk consultancy on Rowley suspension

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-BissessarA global consultancy specialising in political and security risks has warned United Kingdom company BG Energy Holdings Group that the suspension of Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley from Parliament highlights a lack of reliable state administration and widespread disregard for the rule of law in Trinidad and Tobago.
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Elections, General T&T, Law, Media, Opposition Party, Parliament, People's Partnership, PNM, Politics, UNC

A clear and present danger

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By Michael Harris
May 11, 2015 – trinidadexpress.com

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-BissessarThe suspension from Parliament of the Leader of the Opposition by the UNC-led Government last week is a total abuse of power, a denigration of our Parliament and a threat to our democracy.

It is a total abuse of power because in the absence of any final report of the investigation into the e-mail affair from the police or the Integrity Commission the UNC Government went to the Parliament and, acting as investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner all at the same time, used its majority first to censure the Leader of the Opposition and then to banish him from the Parliament for the rest of this term.
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Elections, General T&T, Opposition Party, Parliament, People's Partnership, Politics, UNC

Vengeance could strangle you

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By Raffique Shah
May 09, 2015

Raffique ShahI seldom agree with pronouncements made by Basdeo Panday, such is my mistrust of a man I came to know before he became a big name in politics.

From early o’clock, meaning in 1973 when he was parachuted into leadership of the sugar workers union by the PNM (yes, you read right…check your history) to take up from where the other puppet, Bhadase Maharaj, had died leaving a vacuum, I recognised Panday for what he was—an opportunist posing as a pragmatist.
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corruption, Elections, General T&T, Media, Opposition Party, People's Partnership, PNM, UNC

Rowley exposes new e-mails

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By Anna Ramdass
May 8, 2015 – trinidadexpress.com

Dr. Keith RowleyON THE heels of being suspended from Parliament over Emailgate, Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley last night exposed more e-mails.

This time he has shown new e-mails which allege that $60 million was transferred from First Citizens bank to three foreign banks.
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