Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says the United National Congress (UNC) is ready to work with the Government on the selection of the country’s next President, but the party wants to ensure the candidate “will not be just a puppet and a mouthpiece to be run by the puppet master from the Government and the executive.”
Speaking after a meeting of the Opposition caucus at the conference room of the Debe Waterpark on Wednesday, Persad-Bissessar said the person elected to the presidency should “be able to adhere to the Constitution and the law without the excesses that could come from an over-zealous executive and the government” and must be able to “operate in an independent manner as demanded by the Constitution.”
While everyone wants a name of a nominee, that’s not the approach the UNC intends to take, she said.
A team from the Opposition will meet with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and a government team at 10 am today to discuss the nominees.
Persad-Bissessar said they plan to approach those talks with “an open mind, prepared to listen to the Government proposals and to offer whatever assistance we can.”
She said the Opposition is looking forward to serious discussions, especially in light of the situation in the country “where we are seeing institutions imploding.”
“It is very important that we have these discussions so that we have a person who could be elected by the Electoral College who will be able to act in a manner that the President is to act and that is to say not to be a puppet of the executive,” she said.
The UNC leader said she is fearful, based on information from sources, that Government already has a person in mind.
Persad-Bissessar said: “The stories coming to us now is to place a President in office who will remove all existing independents and in fact place again stooges or puppets of the ruling party. These are things we want to guard against.”
But she said she will go to the talks “with an open mind that these are just rumours and we will be able to come to some kind of consensus with the Government.”
Persad-Bissessar said the independence of the person selected is very important, given the role of the President.
“Remember that the President appoints not just independent senators but also judges, a very crucial role for the separation of powers. We cannot have where the executive, the judiciary and the Office of the President are all in collusion.”