By Stephen Kangal – Caroni
July 05, 2011
The PNM with the longest sojourn in the governance of T&T now has no alternative but to review and radically revamp the secrective and undemocratic nature and nurture of its long outdated and corrupted delegate system used to elect and determine its leader and governing National Council.
In the face of the open, general elections- style truly democratic format and popularly determined practice (one man one vote) adopted by both the UNC and the COP to elect its leadership, the PNM is now forced allow the sanitizing and democratic winds of change to ventilate, de-mystify and liberate the cloistered corridors of Balisier House.
Its leadership aspirants must now appear before the marish and parish via public platforms/media inquisitions before it can ever seek support for election to govern this country again. It is clear that in spite of the mud-slinging by the UNC and COP candidates on the hustings that will disappear with time. The electorate has validated the openly democratic formats adopted by both the UNC and COP as a necessary and mandatory pre-requisite to national leadership determination and assumption of the privilege of governance.
In T&T political parties have the legal status of private clubs and are regulated by the colonial private club ordinance. How can a private club such as the PNM, where its leadership are determined in secrecy, govern T&T? Both the UNC and COP have dismantled and removed the secretive insulation of private club leadership nomination and determination procedures. Consequently they have fully legimitised by popular scrutiny/media grilling their leaders and governing executives. Only those so elected are eminently qualified and entitled to ascend to the governance of T&T.
Unless the PNM can demonstrate immediate willingness to open up and conduct its leadership elections procedures and methodology in the full glare of widespread public scrutiny and respect for the people on the one hand and media accountability and transparency on the other as forcefully established by its two contending parties it cannot in good conscience and legitimately seek our support again to govern T&T again. It must now trump and follow suit.
Rowley: One-man one-vote soon
OPPOSITION People’s National Movement (PNM) political leader Dr Keith Rowley at a public meeting of the party on Monday evening said that the one-man, one-vote system of internal elections favoured by most political parties, would soon be the method by which the party’s membership selects its leaders.
The question through time has been – Would anyone willingly give up power?? The delegate process favors some and they will have to give up that power because they have the voting power and can nix any plan.