On the
evening of October 21, the results of the Local Government Elections in
Trinidad came in with an overriding theme. The Partnership government had lost
the mandate of the people that it enjoyed at one time. A more subtle result
came with the election returns as well. This result was much quieter but was
noted by a number of political analysts in Trinidad who were offering their
thoughts on television throughout the evening. The Congress of the People (COP)
had lost its relevance. A party that at one time likened itself as the
solution-oriented party of Trinidad & Tobago with experienced political
leadership that made it the most vital ally in the formation of the People’s
Partnership in 2010 had almost no voice in the Local Government elections.
Instead, the newly formed Independent Liberal Party (ILP) found itself fighting
for local government seats against the Peoples National Movement (PNM) and the
United National Congress (UNC). If the question then turns to how the COP lost
its relevance in such short order, perhaps the beginning of the party’s fall
can be traced back to September of 2012.
At that
time, rumors and accusations ranging from incompetence to corruption were
swirling around Jack Warner who was then a member of the UNC representing the constituency
of Chaguanas West as a Member of Parliament. The accusations of incompetence
stemmed from his tenure as the Minister of Works and Transport. In fact, his
performance in that position raised the ire of so many that his portfolio was
reduced to just Minister of Works. The rumors of corruption were those that
came from Warner’s work with FIFA and CONCACAF and which were, to some extent,
eventually corroborated. While he was a strong political leader, Warner was
also becoming a political liability for the Partnership government. The
presence of an individual who seemed to have controversy and accusations of
shady-dealings follow him everywhere hung like a dark cloud over all actions of
the government. In fact, Jack Warner’s position in the Prime Minister’s Cabinet
was eroding the government’s moral legitimacy.
Vernon
de Lima, then Vice-Chairman of the COP, made the move to call upon Prime
Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to remove Jack Warner from her Cabinet.
Convinced that the integrity of the Partnership Government; a ruling government
in which the COP was an integral part of forming with the UNC; was at stake,
Mr. de Lima put forth a resolution for consideration by the COP. The resolution
demanded that the Prime Minister remove Jack Warner from the Cabinet or else
the COP would remove itself as a member-party of the People’s Partnership. It
was a bold move to say the least. The COP held a number of influential
positions in the government and to remove itself from the ruling partnership
would put much of that influence in jeopardy. Mr. de Lima’s position in the
matter was clear however. He wanted the COP to be that voice that stood for
good governance and for solutions to the problems of Trinidad & Tobago. If
corruption was an identified problem in the country, then the COP should take a
firm stand against it no matter how politically inconvenient it was. When the
resolution was put to vote as to whether the COP would demand the removal of
the politically powerful and valuable Jack Warner or would choose to work
within ‘the system’ of governmental power, the COP voted by a margin of 91-6
against the proposed resolution. After the vote, COP members spoke of the
necessity to work with the government and not voluntarily remove themselves
from power in order to do the most good for the people of Trinidad &
Tobago. That vote, which led Vernon de Lima to resign his position in the COP,
turned out to be a seminal moment in the history of the party.
Since
that time, the COP has lost some of its influence within the Partnership
government and has seen the enthusiast support it once had dramatically fade,
as is evidenced by the Local Government elections. Ironically, it appears that
the man to drive the nail into the political coffin of the COP is none other
than Jack Warner himself. Months later, Warner found himself in the midst of
yet another round of accusations. This time, however, he was removed from the
Cabinet, his seat in Parliament was declared vacant, and he was kicked out of
the UNC. Not to be outdone, Jack Warner formed his own political party, the
ILP, and subsequently won back the seat he was forced to vacate. And within 4
months of its formation, it is Warner’s ILP that received wide support from
Trinidad voters who did not support the PNM or the UNC in the Local Government
elections. The position of being the 3rd party for Trinidadians
frustrated with the performance of both the PNM and the UNC had belonged to the
COP, but no longer. Perhaps if the COP had supported the resolution last
September against Jack Warner, they would have been seen as the party that
Trinidadians could turn to when they are tired of the status-quo. Instead, the
COP chose to maintain the status-quo. In politics, boldness is risky but is
often rewarded. No one knows that better than Jack Warner.
