Deputy leader of the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) Watson Duke will not partner with the United National Congress (UNC) to challenge the People's National Movement (PNM) in any of the Trinidad elections.
On Friday he said that the PDP will contest every election in Trinidad.
A confident Duke told the Sunday Guardian that the local government fight would be between "two winners"–the PNM and the PDP, which could leave the UNC as the third contender.
"Let's face it, there are two executives right now in the country, one is headed by the PNM in Trinidad and the other by the PDP in Tobago. The UNC does not feature there. They are the Opposition, they are not an executive, so it's really a case where a small Tobago executive led by the PDP is about to challenge the Trinidad executive led by the PNM," Duke said in a telephone interview on Friday.
"It is one executive against the next, the UNC does not feature," he said.
Duke said that the PDP "makes laws and has money to spend."
"We actually fix things, not the UNC, they do not feature in this," Duke said.
"This is a final countdown."
Duke is opening Trinidad's first PDP office in Barataria today.
The PDP won 14 of the 15 seats at January's Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections, causing a 20-year upset for the PNM. In the past week, Duke has posted updates to social media showing the state of the market and meeting with people on the streets of Port-of-Spain.
Historically, Trinidad politics have swung between two parties, a third party rarely makes a significant impact (See Prof Hamid Ghany on page 19). On Friday, Duke dismissed the UNC as the third party.
"We are preparing for everything right now, everything," he said about the upcoming elections constitutionally due at the end of the year.
During the THA elections, the PNM accused the PDP of being an arm of the UNC and doing their bidding in Tobago.
"Look at Tobago's results. Tobago results clearly show that such idiotic and crazy chants by the PNM resulted in their defeat. If that made any kinda sense, it would have made sense to the people of Tobago," Duke said.
Duke said that the PNM was served a "blackout" in Tobago.
"Let's see if that rhetoric works in Trinidad, let us see if it takes root in Trinidad where UNC would be challenged by the PDP," he said.
Griffith to establish a new political vehicle
Likewise, former commissioner of police Gary Griffith has signalled his intention to rejoin politics but he too is not looking to join an existing party.
"Plenty talk is going around. What is a fact is that this present Government has been escorted to the departure door due to poor leadership and dictatorship. It is not if, it is when and by how much," Griffith said.
"I have been engaged in numerous conversations with citizens throughout the country. Based on this, my direction has been made. It is not to join a present party but to establish a new political vehicle to transform our country," he said.
"I always believe that the reason for forming a political vehicle is to battle in any national election. Failure to do this makes you an activist group. We have enough of these. We need a political vehicle to ensure National Transformation. Tobago stood up and expressed its disappointment with the poor leadership and dictatorship they experienced. Trinidad is no different. There is no desire for bullies to dictate. Our citizens need leaders willing to serve. That can only be achieved via participating in elections," he said.
Alexander: PDP's entry into Trinidad politics is much too soon
Social media activist, Phillip Alexander also weighed in on the PDP's entry into local politics. Alexander had launched the Progressive Empowerment Party and contested the 2020 election but did not secure a seat.
"The entry of the PDP into Trinidad politics is much too soon," Alexander said.
He warned that Duke was not the "same person in Trinidad that he was in Tobago."
"I think he is taking a chain-up and he is risking losing Tobago by overplaying his hand in Trinidad. What the PDP won in Tobago is the equivalent to a constituency in a national election and to fight in an environment as hyper-political as Trinidad is, as racially divided as Trinidad is, Tobago is mono-cultural, Trinidad is not," Alexander said.
Guardian Media also contacted the leader of the Movement for Social Justice, David Abdulah but he said he was in a meeting and could not comment.
Guardian Media also reached out to the Congress of the People but there was no response.
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley
PM Rowley: What does that have to do with me?
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley is unbothered by the new political players.
The Prime Minister said that additional parties jumping into the political arena had nothing to do with him.
The Sunday Guardian asked the Prime Minister his thoughts on today's opening of a PDP office in Barataria and whether he was concerned about that and the fact that former political players like Vasant Bharath and Gary Griffith had also signalled their respective intentions to re-enter the political fray.
"What does that have to do with me? This is still a free country where there is freedom of association," the Prime Minister said.