Unit­ed Na­tion­al Con­gress has hailed Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar’s 73rd birth­day as “no or­di­nary birth­day,” say­ing it marked a spe­cial mo­ment not just for the Op­po­si­tion Leader, but for the par­ty and the coun­try.

In a state­ment by Gen­er­al Sec­re­tary Pe­ter Kan­hai, the UNC paid trib­ute to Per­sad-Bisses­sar’s lega­cy ahead of a gen­er­al elec­tion due in just un­der a week.

“As we stand on the brink of his­toric elec­tions, it is fit­ting that we pause to­day to ho­n­our and cel­e­brate a woman who has giv­en so much of her life to the peo­ple of Trinidad and To­ba­go,” he said.

Kan­hai said Per­sad-Bisses­sar broke bar­ri­ers through­out her po­lit­i­cal ca­reer, be­com­ing the first woman to serve as at­tor­ney gen­er­al, op­po­si­tion leader, and prime min­is­ter.

“She shat­tered glass ceil­ings so oth­ers could walk through them,” he said. “Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar has been a trail­blaz­er, a fight­er, a moth­er of the na­tion, and a sym­bol of strength and com­pas­sion.”

He thanked her for what he called her vi­sion and courage, and for “nev­er giv­ing up on the dream of a bet­ter Trinidad and To­ba­go.”

“May you con­tin­ue to be blessed with strength, health, love, and the un­break­able sup­port of all those who be­lieve in your mis­sion,” he said, adding: “The UNC fam­i­ly loves you. We are with you. We be­lieve in you. And to­geth­er, we will win — be­cause when the UNC wins, every­body wins.”