By Sue-Ann Wayow
TWO political parties, the National Transformation Alliance (NTA) and the Patriotic Front is being asked to bow out of the General Election.
Should the parties accept a defeat now, a few days before April 28, they will do Trinidad and Tobago a service by allowing the United National Congress (UNC) Coalition of Interests to win over the People’s National Movement (PNM).
Political leader of the Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP) Phillip Edward Alexander made the call on Sunday following the results of certain polls.
Alexander is part of the UNC Coalition of Interests.
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In a video message, Alexander said, “I am calling on both of the political leaders of the NTA and the Patriotic Front to please, put country first. You cannot win. You had a good try, we will give you props and a round of applause but you are going to have no impact. There is no benefit to you or the country, you continuing on.”
He added, “You would do Trinidad and Tobago a great service today if you publicly accepted defeat.”
The NTA is headed by Gary Griffith and the Patriotic Front is being led by Mickela Panday.
Alexander explained that polling agents were needed on election day which cost approximately $100,000 to $150,000 per constituency.
He said, “One has to ask the question now, after all the polls have come out today, that say the NTA and the Patriotic Front are irrelevant to the election, that they are polling under two per cent, are they still going to continue on till election day?”
Alexander further said, “Are they going to continue on campaigning, thousands of dollars a day to campaign for the next seven days, that’s plenty money or are they going to admit that they tried and they failed and to step down so that the country has a good chance to rescue itself from the criminally corrupt, failed and destructive PNM. One can only wait to see.”
According to one poll published in the Guardian newspapers, the UNC coalition scores 45 per cent in Trinidad and the PNM scores 30 per cent, the third parties, such as the Patriotic Front seven per cent and the NTA – six per cent.
