Officials of the People’s National Movement (PNM) are mum on whether general council member Jennifer Baptiste-Primus has been “spoken to” or may face disciplinary action for her critique of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s statements on why the party’s convention was postponed.
Both Baptiste-Primus and PNM general secretary Foster Cummings had reportedly braced Dr Rowley at PNM’s October 19 general council on leadership messaging issues and the convention postponement.
Council members said Cummings had gotten up from his place at the head table and spoken from the floor. Baptiste-Primus voted against convention postponement while the majority of general council attendees ratified postponement.
There were 70 votes in favour, with one against and five abstentions.
In a media interview on Monday, Baptiste-Primus said Dr Rowley’s recent comments on the issue were too “convoluted”, adding that he did not explain what he meant by the “developing political situation” that resulted in the convention not being held.
However, Ferdinand ‘Ferdie’ Ferreira, a stalwart of the PNM and political commentator, has expressed his support for Baptiste-Primus.
He emphasised that the announcement regarding the convention’s cancellation should have been made only after it had been ratified by the general council. According to Ferreira, Baptiste-Primus was entirely within her rights to raise these concerns publicly.
“The leadership, under the constitution, has an authority, some leverage, in terms of determining the direction of the party but the leadership is not a substitute for the general council. It (the decision) is subject to the approval of the general council,” Ferreira said.
“If, and it’s quite possible, that some circumstances might have developed that the leadership felt, under the political leader, it was necessary to cancel or postpone the convention, all they had to do was to make a recommendation for the approval of the general council. All Jennifer Baptiste-Primus is saying is that what you do first, you should have done second, what you do second you should have done first,” he continued.
He added that she was simply pointing out a procedural error.
Ferreira also asserted that Baptiste-Primus was entitled to voice her opinion, arguing that her questions were not only legitimate but necessary in the interest of party transparency. He rejected media portrayals of the dispute as evidence of deeper rifts within the PNM. Ferreira reminded the public that the PNM is a democratic institution, one that welcomes internal discourse, even if it occasionally plays out in the public domain.
“There is no justification for all the semantics that’s going on,” he remarked. “Jennifer Baptiste and Robert (Le Hunte) are entitled to their opinions and if, so be it, that it gets into the public domain, nothing is wrong with that. As I’ve said before, the PNM is not a secret order; it’s a people’s democratic institution and members are entitled to express their opinion.”
While Ferreira stood by Baptiste-Primus, he also emphasised the importance of adhering to the PNM constitution. He acknowledged that Rowley did the right thing by subsequently meeting with the general council to address the situation. According to Ferreira, the council is the party’s supreme decision-making body, with the only entity that can overrule it being the convention itself.
“The general council ratifying it was a perfectly legitimate decision,” he explained.
A source close to the proceedings reported that at the general council meeting on October 19, aside from Baptiste-Primus, there was no major contention. Guardian Media understands that members of the council were given an opportunity to express their concerns, a customary part of the meeting. During this session, Baptiste-Primus reportedly accused Rowley of making a “totalitarian” decision by announcing the postponement without first obtaining the council’s approval.
The source, who was present at the meeting, explained that Rowley defended his actions by asking members to trust his judgement as the political leader. He reportedly explained that the decision to postpone the convention was made from a political standpoint and that the council would be asked to ratify the decision at a later meeting.
“He said, ‘Listen, I want you all to trust me, I am the political leader. The decision was taken from a political standpoint where we sat among the executive, took the decision, and we say when we come to the next general council it will be ratified,’” the source said.
Baptiste-Primus had also indicated that during the council meeting Dr Rowley hinted at a December election however, in response, a PNM source sought to downplay the suggestion saying he was just testing the waters.
The PNM constitution outlines the responsibilities of the political leader in Article 19, stating that the political leader must consult with party officials such as the chairman, vice-chairman, and general secretary on political matters.
Meanwhile, Article 17.4 (h) asserts that the Annual Convention is the highest authority within the party and holds the ultimate decision-making power.