Caption: Candidate for UNC Deputy Political Leader under the United Patriots slate Anita Haynes- Alleyne, right, speaks with Chairman of the Naparima constituency executive Shazan Mohammed at the Macaulay Community Centre on Thursday night. AZP News/Sue-Ann Wayow
By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE United Patriots (UP) of the United National Congress (UNC) remains in full support of the UNC candidates in the upcoming bye-elections.
Member of Parliament for Tabaquite Anita Haynes-Alleyne gave this reassurance to party supporters during a political outreach meeting at the Macaulay Community Centre on Thursday.
Referring to the party’s symbol of the praying hands, she said, “The UNC remains united behind our candidates, but the praying hands is united behind change in our national executive.”
She told supporters not to believe any lies being spread that the slate she represented do not support the two UNC candidates.
Haynes-Alleyne said, “People are going around saying that we do not support our candidates in the bye-election. What nonsense is that? Why would you do something like that?”
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Before even some of them knew where Lengua/Indian Walk was, she was walking with the candidate she claimed adding “half of them can’t even spell Lengua/Indian Walk good.”
Back in 2019, Haynes-Alleyne said she explained publicly why the Lengua/Indian Walk electoral district was a crucial part of the local government election.
“You are deliberately creating division, you are deliberately lying to UNC members and as I said before, if you have to lie, you know you are not on the winning team,” she said.
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Haynes-Alleyne said, “To be very clear, all of us in the room, everybody on this slate, supports wholeheartedly the candidate in Lengua/Indian Walk and Morne Diablo/Quinam. We put our efforts behind them in a by-election as much as we can.”
However she said, she was removed from a UNC group chat and asked what was really going on with the various groups.
The bye-elections for the Quinam/Morne Diablo and Lengua/Indian Walk both take place on June 17, two days after the UNC internal election on June 15.
The UNC candidates for those areas respectively are Sarah Sookdeo and Nicole Gopaul.
Haynes’constituency borders that of Pointe-a-Pierre whose Member of Parliament David Lee is supportive of the STAR team led by political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
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She said, “We are in the same party. We can be on different sides of this issue but we are in the same party.”
While disagreements were allowed, animosity should not be Haynes said.
“We can disagree but we can still be friends. But the problem that we are facing is that they don’t want to be nobody friend,” she said of the other team.
Chairing the meeting was Alderman in the Siparia Regional Corporation Victor Roberts.
Roberts sent a message to all UNC aldermen and local government councillors to support the United Patriots slate led by Member of Parliament for Mayaro Rushton Paray.
He said, “I want to make a call to all councillors, aldermen, chairmen in this party to be on the winning team.”
Roberts spoke about an incident in which he and another councillor took a stance against something that they believed was not in the interest of the people and he was chastised for it by some-one telling him during a phone call that he had no gratitude.
He said he was told that he was appointed not to look after the interest of the people but to look after the interests of the UNC party’s decision whether or not he agreed with it.
“You know what was my answer…I said if that is the case and that was the reason why I was appointed as an alderman, then remove me,” Roberts told supporters.
His message to the aldermen and councillors, “If you believe that standing up for what is wrong will make the situation right, you fooling yourself.”
