Naparima MP Rodney Charles is calling on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to join him in retirement.
In December last year, Charles said he would be riding into the political sunset as he said he would not be seeking re-election.
During a media conference in Marabella yesterday, Charles said that if both People’s National Movement (PNM) and United National Congress (UNC) political leaders stepped down it would help usher in a new generation of politics.
“I call on Dr Keith Christopher Rowley, I call on my esteemed political leader, Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar, to join me in stepping down and ushering in a transformative moment in our largely pedestrian, underperforming, outmoded and antediluvian politics of survival,” Charles said.
While he did not suggest who could replace the leaders who have been at the helm of their parties for almost 14 years, he said the memberships will decide. Charles said there were many capable young professionals, but they wee not in political parties as the current nature of politics discouraged them.
Charles noted that former prime ministers Patrick Manning, Dr Eric Williams and George Chambers died at 69. While former prime ministers ANR Robinson and Basdeo Panday lived beyond their biblically allocated lifespan of three score and 10, he said they did so out of prime ministerial office.
Charles said leaders under 50 were trending both regionally and internationally. Furthermore, he said, if Rowley won the election in 2025, he would serve until he was in his 80s.
“We must discard once and for all the notion that one has to leave T&T politics either in ignominy or in a casket. That has all the footprints of a septuagenarian logic and behaviour,” he said.
Charles said the UNC’s priority was to oust the PNM, but it could not strengthen the party behind closed doors. He said transparency would build trust and show voters that the UNC operated with the same principles it intended to govern. Therefore, he said, calling internal elections when constitutionally due was necessary for shaping the party into the best version of itself.
He said the UNC must reinvent itself to remain a resilient force against the PNM, with new policies, national development, and transfer of leadership in pursuit of the country’s interest.
“Our internal elections must be the gold standard reflecting the highest levels of transparency, fairness, integrity, and world-class systems and processes. They must never favour one side with doctored lists, voter suppression techniques and questionable practices. They must be conducted in a manner from which even the EBC could learn lessons,” he added.
UNC MPs Rushton Paray, Dinesh Rambally and Anita Haynes-Alleyne have called for Persad-Bissessar to announce the National Executive (NATEX) elections following a plan to postpone the internal polls with the party preparing to contest the 2025 general elections. Although NATEX elections do not change the leadership, Charles said the executive is the critical body that sets the party’s direction.
Responding to UNC members who believe they should sit on the back benches of Parliament, Charles said, “It matters not where we sit in Parliament. What is of consequence is where we stand on the enduring principles of truth, honour and dignity.”
As for Paray, Rambally and Haynes-Alleyne, Charles said, “Que sera, sera.” He believes they are future leaders.
As for Charles outside the Parliament, he plans to visit his grandchildren in Japan and remains available to help the UNC. Charles said at his age, he had no time to waste and had a lot of sins to make up for.
Among those attending the media conference were former chairman of the Couva/ Tabaquite/ Talparo Regional Corporation Henry Awong, Mon Desir Councillor Deryck Bowrin and UNC Naparima Constituency Executive members.