Jack begs former UNC colleagues to unite after internals

Senior Reporter

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While it is still unclear whether those branded “dissidents” in the United National Congress (UNC) will mend fences with the current leadership, but a former opposition member is pleading with them to do so.

Jack Warner, who was once a part of the “RamJack” faction that broke away from UNC founder Basdeo Panday in 2009, said there was nothing grave that occurred during this recent internal election campaign that should cause permanent damage.

Warner, no stranger to political squabbles, has a history with the UNC that dates back decades.

Fifteen years ago, he, alongside other top leaders Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and Winston “Gypsy’” Peters, considered Panday an albatross on the party’s neck and vied for his leadership position.

In 2013, he fell out with the UNC after he was not reselected to contest Chaguanas West for the by-election that was called. He vowed to bring down Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s People’s Partnership government and formed the Independent Liberal Party (ILP), which won the seat he formerly held by a landslide. Having reunited with the UNC last year, Warner told Guardian Media in an interview yesterday that he remains committed to the party.

He said he wants all members to unite following the recently held internal elections to unseat the People’s National Movement (PNM) when the general election bell rings next year.

“There was a lot of overreaction in the campaign on both sides, and I really feel that the quicker they mend fences and get together, the better for the party and for the country. And I will do everything in my power to see if that can be achieved as quickly as possible,” he said as he appealed to his former colleagues.

“Forget the hubris, forget the arrogance, forget who win and who lose, and let us, of course, mend fences as quickly as possible to save this country for the next generation,” he added.

Too early to say how Kamla will respond–analysts

Two analysts agreed it was too early to say whether members of the UNC United Patriots—Rushton Paray, Anita Haynes, Larry Lalla, and others—would be pushed out of the party or retained.

Paray and Haynes were both vying for deputy political leader in the national executive elections held on Saturday, while Lalla aimed for the chairmanship.

However, they lost by a landslide to the Persad-Bissessar-endorsed Star Team. Political scientist Dr Bishnu Ragoonath said if they want to participate in general elections under Persad-Bissessar’s leadership, there’s some making up to do.

“It is not impossible for those dissidents, as we know them today to be, to continue to work with the party. The question we beg is whether they will continue to create dissension rather than try to foster unity,” he said.

“As to whether she will embrace them? Definitely not. They will have to kind of find ways and means to find themselves back into her good graces, and we’ll see how that works out,” he added.

Meanwhile, political analyst Dr Winford James agreed with Warner’s sentiment that the election campaign was not unforgivable. He said there have been worse squabbles in T&T’s democratic history.

However, he indicated that it would be Persad-Bissessar’s decision whether to shun or accommodate her challengers, as disagreements do not necessarily mean disloyalty.