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In October last year, almost immediately after a strong intimation in Parliament from then People’s National Movement (PNM) prime minister Dr Keith Rowley that he was having his swansong and would be leaving the Parliament, the PNM tersely announced that: “its 51st Annual Convention, as well as the internal election, originally scheduled for Sunday 17 November 2024 has been cancelled”.
The cancellation at once raised questions about whether the PNM leadership wished to avoid succession to the offices of prime minister and political leader of the PNM being determined by the membership of the PNM and to facilitate Rowley handpicking his successor.
Photo: PNM.
Rowley had long declared his belief that Stuart Young MP was the pick of his Cabinet ministers and plainly desired to have Young succeed him as prime minister.
On 20 October 2024, I declared my concern that “the PNM cancellation notice represents an impairment of our democracy of a stealthy kind”. I discerned “an obvious fear of top leadership of the PNM” that “a convention and internal elections at this time would permit party members to speak against the handpicking of candidates and successors to the current leadership”.
I wrote that “cancellation of an opportunity to influence different choices and to disrupt plans to promote hand-picked favourites of the parasitic oligarchy behind the scenes into high positions is anti-democratic”.
I then asked: “Is there now a significant split between the ‘social’ PNM and the ‘grassroots’ PNM within the ministerial and executive levels of the party over preferences for political foster children?”
(Copyright Trinidad Newsday.)
An intended fix for Young to succeed Rowley became crystal clear when the PNM scheduled a retreat in Tobago on 4 and 5 January 2025 and Rowley announced on January 3 that he would be resigning from the office of prime minister.
The PNM leadership intimated that Young was the unanimous choice to succeed Rowley but there was no such unanimity at the retreat.
There was reportedly “a straw poll” and the PNM Members of the House of Representatives (the House) were reportedly split 11 for Young and 9 for Pennelope Beckles (Beckles), MP for Arima.
On 7 January 2025, I commented on “the huge political vulnerability of Young” if he did not have the unanimous support of all the PNM members of the House unequivocally expressed in writing for the guidance of the President of the Republic, who would be asked to appoint Young as prime minister.
Photo: PNM.
Apparently there was subsequently a scramble to obtain such a document and this requirement was fulfilled by the time Rowley resigned.
On 26 February 2024, Rowley announced that he would officially resign from office on 16 March. He did and Young was sworn in as prime minister on 17 March 2025. The next day Young called the election and a date of 28 April 2025 (last Monday) was set.
As is now apparent, I had asked an on-point question about adverse grassroots reaction to the intended fix, which had as its beneficiary a person firmly identified with the so-called one per cent.
Photo: PNM.
The total vote for the PNM plummeted by 102,000 and it lost the election badly. Rowley’s intended fix failed disastrously and he has caused the PNM’s earth to be scorched.
We must recall that Beckles had previously, but unsuccessfully, competed against Rowley in 2014 for the leadership of the PNM.
Were animosity and spitefulness on the part of Rowley against Beckles other primary factors in the cancellation of the Convention and internal elections?
Photo: Penny Beckles page.
The cancellation deprived Beckles, as well as other aspirants, including Young, of an equal opportunity to compete to be endorsed by the membership of the party.
What a severe price the PNM has paid and how pointlessly Rowley has made them pay it.
Despite the PNM losses last Monday, Beckles successfully retained her Arima seat and will now be entering Parliament as newly appointed Opposition leader. Had Beckles or any other person properly elected by the PNM membership in internal elections faced the polls last Monday would the PNM earth have been so badly scorched?
Photo: PNM.
Meanwhile, welcome Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on your return. Thank you for your emphasis on empathy in governance.
The Rowley PNM administration sorely lacked it.
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Martin G Daly SC is a prominent attorney-at-law. He is a former Independent Senator and past president of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago.
He is chairman of the Pat Bishop Foundation and a steelpan music enthusiast.
