As the UNC national executive elections continue to attract attention, one issue that has arisen is the selection of UNC candidates in the last general election and its connection to the defeat suffered by the People’s Partnership of which the UNC is a part.
A listing of the UNC candidates (as opposed to COP, NJAC and TOP candidates) and the dates on which they were announced essentially reveals that the win/loss ratio was more favourable for those candidates who were announced later as opposed to those who were announced earlier.
The first batch of UNC candidates was announced at a Monday Night Forum at the Trinidad Country Club on July 13. Those candidates were:
Candidate, Constituency, Date announced
1. Garvin Nicholas, Diego Martin North East, July 13, 2015
2. Clifton De Coteau, Moruga/Tableland, July 13, 2015
3. Jairam Seemungal, La Horquetta/Talparo, July 13, 2015
These candidates had eight weeks to campaign and all three of them lost. Seemungal and De Coteau were incumbent MPs seeking re-election and Nicholas was contesting the same seat as 2010. The success percentage was zero per cent.
The second batch of UNC candidates was announced at a Monday Night Forum on July 20, at Guaico. Those candidates were:
4. Fuad Khan, Barataria/San Juan, July 20, 2015
5. Vasant Bharath, St Joseph, July 20, 2015
6. David Lee, Pointe-a-Pierre, July 20, 2015
7. Surujrattan Rambachan, Tabaquite, July 20, 2015
8. Brent Sancho, Toco/Sangre Grande, July 20, 2015
These candidates had seven weeks to campaign and three of the five won their seats. Khan and Rambachan were incumbent MPs seeking re-election, while the other successful candidate was David Lee who was a first-time candidate. The success percentage was 60 per cent. Both Vasant Bharath and Brent Sancho were unsuccessful and both of them have election petitions before the court in respect of their defeats.
In his election petition, Bharath has alleged, in paragraph 7, of his statement, as follows:
“7. The election was not held in the manner provided by Parliament in the Representation of the People Act and the Rules made under that Act. The election as held involved multiple breaches of the Election Rules including the opening of polling stations after the close of the poll, keeping such stations open after the poll had or should have closed, the corrupt practice of allowing those not entitled to vote, because the poll should have been closed, to cast votes and a failure to announce the close of the poll at 6 pm.”
The election petitions filed by Bharath and Sancho together with De Coteau and three others are currently before the courts at the application for leave stage of the proceedings.
The third batch of UNC candidates was announced at a Monday Night Forum in Charlieville on August 3. Those candidates were:
9. Ganga Singh, Chaguanas West, August 3, 2015
10. Roodal Moonilal, Oropouche East, August 3, 2015
11. Tim Gopeesingh, Caroni East, August 3, 2015
12. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Siparia, August 3, 2015
These candidates had five weeks to campaign and all four were successful. Their success percentage was 100 per cent. Singh regained Chaguanas West for the UNC.
The fourth batch of UNC candidates was announced on Friday, August 14, at the Rienzi Complex. Those candidates were:
13. Ramona Ramdial, Couva North, August 14, 2015
14. Rudranath Indarsingh, Couva South, August 14, 2015
15. Christine Newallo-Hosein, Cumuto-Manzanilla, August 14, 2015
16. Lackram Bodoe, Fyzabad, August 14, 2015
17. Fazal Karim, Chaguanas East, August 14, 2015
18. Rodney Charles, Naparima, August 14, 201515
19. Raziah Ahmed, San Fernando West, August 14, 2015
20. Wayne Munroe, Tunapuna, August 14, 2015
21. Don Sylvester, St Ann’s East, August 14, 2015
22. Ramesh Ramanand, La Brea, August 14, 2015
23. Eli Zakoor, POS North/St Ann’s West, August 14, 2015
24. Vidiya Guyadeen-Gopeesingh, Oropouche West, August 14, 2015
These candidates had three weeks and two days to campaign. Ramdial and Indarsingh were successfully re-elected, while Newallo-Hosein, Bodoe, Karim, Charles and Guyadeen-Gopeesingh were successful newcomers. The success percentage was 58.3 per cent. Wayne Munroe replaced Hamlyn Jailal who was announced on August 9 by the COP in a press release as their candidate for Tunapuna. This was changed after PP inter-party discussions.
The final batch of UNC candidates was announced at a rally at the Ato Boldon Stadium on Sunday, August 16. Those candidates were:
25. Rushton Paray, Mayaro, August 16, 2015
26. Bhoe Tewarie, Caroni Central, August 16, 2015
27. Barry Padarath, Princes Town, August 16, 2015
28. Ravi Ratiram, Point Fortin, August 16, 2015
These candidates had three weeks to campaign. Only Ratiram was unsuccessful. In the case of Paray, he replaced Roger Morales who was announced as the initial replacement for Winston Peters on August 14, but replaced on August 16. The success percentage for this batch of candidates was 75 per cent. When all of the batches of candidates are taken together, it is apparent that the overall success percentage was 60.71 per cent. The losses in the first two batches of UNC candidates, especially in La Horquetta/Talparo, Moruga/Tableland, St Joseph and Toco/Sangre Grande, made the difference.