Rejected PNM Arima incumbent MP Pennelope Beckles is being wooed by members of the Congress of the People (COP) to contest Arima for COP in the unity arrangement with UNC, according to a senior COP official.
While Beckles is remaining silent to Guardian calls on the issue, Bobby Charles, secretary of her Arima constituency executive, said yesterday: "I have been in constant contact with Penny and I don't think she would be crossing no floor to join the Opposition–her reputation will be tarnished if she jumps ship and she knows it. "So I know she would not do that...I know she will remain in the PNM and work with the party," he said. Charles spoke after a 12 noon meeting yesterday of PNM's Arima constituency executive with PNM deputy leader Joan Yuille-Williams at Balisier House in Port-of-Spain. This concerned the situation in PNM's Arima unit which has been suffering a fallout after Beckles was dropped as the candidate last week. Prospective nominee is former PNM senator, Laurel Lezama-Lee Sing.
Both were screened for the seat over a week ago. Although Beckles was nominated by 19 party groups in Arima and Lezama-Lee Sing by three, the latter got the nod. Beckles had been offered a diplomatic posting which she refused. After Lezama-Lee Sing was chosen, Beckles said she would still work with the constituency. Apart from being MP, Beckles is also PNM's co-ordinator for Arima. Beckles had lauded the January assumption to office by UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar as a significant achievement where women were concerned. Persad-Bissessar, thanking Beckles subsequently, had said she had attended law school with Beckles. Persad-Bissessar did not answer calls yesterday, and UNC deputy leader Suruj Rambachan said that he "did not think" UNC approaches were made to Beckles. However, a COP spokesman said COP officials in Arima had spoken with Beckles a few days ago about the election climate and an "approach was made" regarding the Arima seat.
Charles said PNM deputy leader Yuille-Williams had asked members of the Arima unit to a meeting yesterday to consolidate the situation in the seat and get Beckles to work with Lezama-Lee Sing. "They're very concerned about our situation and how the prospective nominee, and she is not the candidate yet, has been handling the executive," he said, "She brought her own team in, but she has now been mandated to work with our executive. "Fifty per cent of our executive said they were not in favour of working with the prospective nominee and the time to go campaigning house-to-house is decreasing." After the meeting with Yuille-Williams, Charles said, another meeting was scheduled for last night, for Beckles and Lezama-Lee Sing to meet and where the "olive branch" could be extended to bring peace to the situation.
"Since Ms Beckles is co-ordinator of the seat as well as MP, if she withdraws as co-ordinator, the party will have to decide what to do and the party is already concerned about seven seats so it would not want Arima to be an eighth concern," he said. He said that after being dropped as the candidate, Beckles has continued to work with the constituency. Charles said the executive has received a written apology from PNM's screening committee regarding what transpired after screening when Lee-Sing was announced as the prospective candidate. Charles said a decision could not have been announced, since the PNM's Central Executive still has to ratify this. He said he was concerned about the "behaviour" of screening team leader Prime Minister Patrick Manning who, he said, had announced the decision before ratification.