newsday.co.tt Time for COP reflection By JULIEN NEAVES Monday, August 5 2013 CONGRESS of the People (COP) deputy chairman Nicole Dyer-Griffith has said that recent in- fighting in the party as highlighted in the media will cause “some type of damage” to the COP brand but also provide an opportunity for reflection. “All PR provides some good. So it is a matter of how we in the party treat with the scenario and it is a matter of how we manage the process moving forward. That the COP has become a name which is back on the top of people’s mind...this is always good,” she said. Dyer-Griffith was responding to reports that Kishore Ramadhar, brother of COP political leader Prakash Ramadhar and chairman of the COP’s Diego Martin West constituency arm, Rudolph Hanamji, have tabled a motion calling for Ramadhar to be removed as leader and for the party to leave the People’s Partnership. On July 23, COP field operations secretary Kirt Sinnette announced at a COP political meeting in Chaguanas his intention to bring a motion at the next national council also calling for the party to quit the Partnership. Dyer-Griffith noted that as a member of the COP’s national executive, “it is my understanding that a democratically elected political leader can only be removed via a leadership election and not via a motion.” She said that as far as she knows, the motions on the table to come forward are not to have Ramadhar removed but to look at a redefining of the role of the COP in the context of the People’s Partnership. “Essentially the motion will go through the process that all motions go through. It will be viewed by the national executive and then it will be taken to the national council. It will be debated and then a decision will be taken by delegates of the national council,” she added. She noted the party has always been one where democracy prevails and where people are free to express opinions in a responsible manner. Dyer-Griffith also spoke on the recently concluded Chaguanas West bye-election and the win by former UNC heavyweight Jack Warner. “The outcome of the election needs to be viewed in a broader context and it needs to be viewed in a non-emotive manner. If you were to remove the individual Jack Warner out of the equation and look at the results in Chaguanas West from a non-emotive perspective, then it will give you a number of options in terms of moving forward,” she said. “People need to view the outcome from the perspective of the electorate not voting based on being told the way in which they should vote, not voting based on party but voting based on parameters that they would have identified. And regardless of how we may feel, think, or want to appreciate or not (appreciate) those characteristics that they chose to vote on, we need to respect the outcome of the election.” She said the election also saw a number of serious areas coming to the fore including “allegations and accusations left right and centre” which are now in the public domain and are cause for concern. She also noted there were actions taken by certain Government officials which are also cause for concern, but did not go into specifics. She said the election and results were a “fantastic opportunity” to have the real issue of constitutional reform laid on the table. She noted Ramadhar in his role as Minister of Legal Affairs has been leading the constitutional reform public consultation process. She also noted President Anthony Carmona during his address yesterday on the ceremonial opening of Parliament also spoke on constitutional reform. She called on all political parties to make public their positions on constitutional reform, noting that not one party, save the COP, has done so. visit COP @ coptnt © newsday.co.tt - newsday.co.tt
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 15:14:35 +0000
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