The Opposition yesterday gave approval for Government’s sole presidential nominee Madam Justice Paula-Mae Weekes to become T&T’s sixth and first female President.
Affixing four signatures to the nomination form were Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar and MPs Dr Roodal Moonilal, David Lee and Prakash Ramadhar at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.
Twelve signatures were required on the form.
The Electoral College, which is made up of all the elected members of Parliament and Senate, will meet on January 19 to take a vote for a new President.
Persad- Bissessar said once the nomination was unopposed “there will be no vote and the President will be declared as duly elected under the Constitution. As of now, Madam Justice Weekes is the President-designate of T&T.”
Last Friday, Persad-Bissessar, who accepted Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s invitation to discuss the nominations for the election of a new President, did not submit a candidate’s name, but after hearing Weekes being the PNM’s choice, asked for time to meet with her members to deliberate on the matter.
At that time, Persad-Bissessar described her meeting with the Government as “productive and cordial.”
At a press conference at the Office of the Opposition Leader, Port-of-Spain, Persad-Bissessar said they endorsed the form for the best interest of all and “to have a united view with respect to the highest office of the land to elect the first female President. We believed that if ever there was a time that T&T needed people to unite it was now. It is our respective view that today our country is more divided than ever before.”
She said it was time to heal the fractures created and to move the country forward.
She said the Opposition decided to support Weekes because “she appears to be deserving of this particular office and we trust that Madam Justice Weekes will understand the faith that the country has placed on her.”
She said she hoped Weekes would execute her duties in an unwavering, uncompromising and impartial manner.
“It gives me personally great pleasure to share in this very historic occasion... and collaborating and co-signing the nomination form for the first female president of T&T.”
Persad-Bissessar opted not to say if the Opposition had selected a candidate.
In 1992, she said the Opposition supported the Government’s presidential nominee.
Persad-Bissessar said while many may have their reservations about the Opposition co-signing, they queried from the Government if Weekes had met all the requirements under the Constitution.
Persad-Bissessar said they raised the issue that to become a presidential candidate the person has to be a resident of T&T for ten years, seeing that Weekes was appointed a Judge in the Court of Appeal in Turks and Caicos in 2016 for three years.
Yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said she received in writing from Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young “where he assured us that the Government is satisfied that its nominee meets all the requirements under the Constitution.”
Persad-Bissessar said they had to take the Government on its word.
President Anthony Carmona’s term in office ends on March 18.