Former People’s Partnership (PP) minister, Dr Devant Maharaj, is accusing the party’s political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar of acting like a dictator, in light of her response to calls by Mayaro MP Rushton Paray, for internal elections to be held.
Dr Devant Maharaj, who is now an adjunct professor at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, released a statement today, highlighting what he describes as “continued flaws in Mrs Persad-Bissessar's leadership”.
“Disregarding Paray's call for internal election’s underscores Persad-Bissessar's authoritarian tendencies, prioritizing her grip on power over the genuine demands of party members, thereby undermining the essence of democratic decision-making,” Dr Maharaj said in the release.
He added: “Persad-Bissessar's reluctance to embrace internal elections and her aversion to being challenged hint at her well-known insecurity in her leadership and a reluctance to subject herself to democratic scrutiny.”
According to Dr Maharaj, the UNC leader’s current handling of calls for internal elections by Mayaro MP Rushton Paray are no different how other senior party members were treated in the past—"dissenting voices” were expelled, stifled, and squelched.
“Stifling internal party democracy and suppressing the diversity of opinion is a hallmark of her leadership style,” the UNC ideologue observes.
“Persad-Bissessar's divisive rhetoric creates an environment of fear and forces conformity within the party, alienating dissenting voices and eroding the spirit of inclusivity and participatory democracy.”
He questions the “failure to commit to a timeline for internal elections despite the UNC’s constitutional obligations” and warns that those chosen to contest the 2025 General Elections will be specially hand-picked for their loyalty to the party’s leader, above all else, including the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago.
Meanwhile, former PP trade minister, Vasant Bharath, who in the past has gone up against Kamla Persad-Bissessar for the position of party leader, is also raising concerns about what he sees as dictatorship within the UNC under her tenure.
On his Facebook page, Bharath quotes an excerpt from the UNC’s Constitution:
“To struggle against any tendency towards authoritarianism, autocracy and dictatorship and to promote a viable diffusion of centres of power and decision-making as check against the concentration and abuse of power…”
“One of the party’s founding principles. No commentary required from me. Judge for yourself,” he wrote in preface to the excerpt.
Last Friday (March 22), Mayaro MP Rushton Paray hosted a press conference in which he called for the hosting of UNC internal elections when they are constitutionally due in June this year, in order to put the party on a sound footing for the 2025 General Elections. Since his call, several UNC MPs and Senators have issued press releases and statements declaring their loyalty to the party’s political leader, with only a few party members agreeing with Paray and echoing his call.
Paray was forced to issue a follow-up statement of his own, stating categorically that his call was not an attack on the UNC political leader.
However, Mrs Persad-Bissessar has since threatened the Mayaro MP with expulsion from the party if he begins to vote against the party line in Parliament.
“But the day they should break the party line, the party’s constitution is very clear again on what would be the consequence, they will be expelled from the party,” she told Guardian Media in an exclusive interview.
Persad-Bissessar admitted she believes the timing of Paray’s statements is not by chance, and questioned whether Paray was being used as a puppet for the ruling PNM to destabilise the UNC.