One of the two former UNC councillors who were yesterday presented as People’s National Movement candidates for the Local Government Elections says he is no traitor.
“No, I don’t (think I’m a traitor). I decided to move to be in a better position to serve my residents, even beyond what I was able to do during my first term,” Marcus Girdharie said yesterday when asked his response to his former UNC colleagues who were labelling him a traitor and Judas.
Girdharie and Sheldon “Fish” Garcia defected from the UNC in recent weeks to join the PNM. Girdharie will aim to represent Marabella South/Vistabella and Garcia Arima Central again, but this time in the red of the balisier.
Moments before being presented as one of the PNM’s 141 candidates for the August 14 polls at a Special Convention at NAPA, Port-of-Spain, Girdharie, said, “The PNM is an institution that is greater than any one person, and that institution is one that has structure. It has protocols and professionals.
“My prediction – if I may say so – would be, at best, 8-1. But I think the momentum has simply collapsed for the United National Congress – in that they are now feverishly looking for persons to fill positions.”
He said at the launch of the UNC’s local government campaign, he recognised the party had no structure and strategy. He said after Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar delivered her address, the incumbents in the San Fernando City Corporation were given one minute to speak.
However, Girdharie expressed confidence in winning the electoral district again.
“Prior to the news being publicised on the local newspaper, I would have sent a communication to my various community groups because I see myself being accountable to them – the electoral district, and what they have said to me is that they support me in my move. They have said to me they didn’t see UNC in the area, in the district, it was me in the area. I was the one who did the work that was necessary to improve the lives and the environment in which they live, and they have said they will be giving Marcus their support despite what side I am on.”
He added, “The work I would have done to solidify my position as the councillor for the Marabella South/Vistabella speaks for itself, so for any party to have not chosen me as the candidate may have been a misstep on their part. And as I’ve said, if I hadn’t come to the PNM to be a candidate, I was already a candidate at the UNC. I came because I understood the structure and the professionalism under which, and the leadership that PNM is guided upon.”
Rowley: We bribed no one to cross
Meanwhile, delivering the feature address, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley denied that the PNM (PNM) had bribed former UNC officials to defect.
Rowley noted that all 141 candidates screened and selected by the party were “volunteers.”
Apart from Girdharie and Garcia, former UNC senator Taharqa Obika, who recently switched allegiances, was also in the audience at the event.
While Rowley did not mention either candidate by name, he said: “Of the 141 candidates, every single one is a volunteer. We have offered no one an inducement. We have paid no one a fee and most importantly, we have made no one a promise.”
Rowley advised his loyal supporters to not be distracted by issues raised by the Opposition in relation to long-standing national issues such as crime and the economy.
“It took us a long time to get to this point, where the main issue is whether you support local government reform or oppose it. It is as simple as that,” he said.
Rowley also claimed that his party was not concerned by several smaller political parties that are contesting the election.
“We have defeated about 70 political parties in this nation. All we can say to all the detractors is to form them and bring them. The PNM will deal with them,” he said.
In her brief address, the party’s vice chairman Camille Robinson-Regis called on candidates to remain humble if they are eventually successful.
“Understand that politics is all about leaving your ego at the door. From the time you are declared a winner every day from henceforth should be about reducing your ego,” she said.
“Instead, your days should be used to serve selflessly,” she added.
She called on them to all read the People’s Charter of 1956, which details the party’s fundamental principles.
“It is not an idealistic or outdated document. Its principles are very alive today. It is a living monument,” Robinson-Regis said.
Robinson-Regis also took aim at the Opposition, who she claimed had no vision.
“They are locked into times of trouble, seasons of discontent, scandal, and viciousness,” Robinson-Regis said.
The event also featured numerous performances from popular local artists, including Iwer George, Benjai and Isasha.
