(Trinidad Guardian) Days after Stuart Young was chosen as Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s successor at a parliamentary retreat in Tobago, he is now in limbo, as several MPs who were in that caucus are said to now be refusing to endorse him on a document indicating he will have majority support in the House of Representatives when Rowley eventually steps down.
Cabinet sources have told Guardian Media that Leader of Government Business Camille Robinson-Regis started canvassing MPs yesterday to get their signatures for the document, which will be forwarded to the President eventually.
But sources said as Robinson-Regis began attempting to physically obtain the signatures of the MPs who participated in the recent vote, she met some hurdles.
Guardian Media was reliably informed that at least nine MPs have initially declined to register their signatures.
This, as a fallout has developed among MPs over the manner in which the voting process went down and why it was necessary so soon in the first place.
Young, Port-of-Spain North/St Ann’s West MP, edged out Arima MP Pennelope Beckles 11-9 for the position after a secret ballot at the Tobago Plantations on Monday.
According to chapter five of the Constitution that deals with the appointment of ministers, “Where there is occasion for the appointment of a Prime Minister, the President shall appoint as Prime Minister: (a) a member of the House of Representatives who is the Leader in that House of that party which commands the support of the majority of members of that House.”
It is, therefore, critical that Young receives the majority backing from as many MPs when the time comes for him to be installed as the next Prime Minister.
The lack of signatures on the endorsement letter could now throw a wrench in the leadership transition which Rowley assured would be “smooth.”
On the issue of why there is now contention after Young won the straw vote on Monday, sources said MPs were initially under the impression that Rowley was going to step away from both prime ministership and the party leader position sooner rather than later. As such, they were under the impression that Young would have been in an interim prime ministerial position pending a convention to select a political leader.
However, “after the vote, the caucus realised that Dr Rowley was not going to resign as political leader anytime soon and would stay on in that position until the convention, which is carded for in September.”
Sources said they were also unhappy that some MPs were coerced into going in a particular way during the voting process with the promise of senior government positions if the party were returned to government.
Guardian Media attempted to reach out to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and Robinson-Regis on the alleged concerns but there was no response up to press time.
Robinson-Regis had indicated on Tuesday that there was no friction or animosity within the PNM following the process which selected Young as Dr Rowley’s successor. But questions about a growing divide within the party have since surfaced and intensified ahead of a meeting of General Council on Saturday.
Crucial General Council meeting
Meanwhile, former PNM general secretary Ashton Ford said he expected calls for clarification about the process used to select Young and its transparency at Saturday’s meeting.
“There will be discussions, clarifications and, of course, there will be emotions given the way comments are coming from people who are challenging the process. There will be people like that and they will speak loud but that doesn’t influence the decisions in the party. The persons who sometimes make the loud noises are the people who sometimes have an agenda.”
During a telephone interview with Guardian Media yesterday, Ford also noted that it was not uncommon for temperatures to rise over critical matters during General Council meetings.
“I hear a lot of people talking about morality and different things, it is all speculation and there are elements in the media trying to promote these kinds of comments and trying to create division but we have a history.”
Ferdie Ferreira, a PNM founding member, also said he expects the party’s constitution regarding the election of a successor to prevail on Saturday.
“What triggered all of this is all these unanswered questions and that is because they did not follow the party’s constitution. It is there and documented and there are precedents for this,” Ferreira said.
He repeated concerns that the result of the vote was not unanimous.
Meanwhile, former PNM Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Mariano Browne, is of the view that Rowley’s hand could be bent when the executives meet.
“The point is that Dr Rowley, at every stage of the game, bypassed the organs of the party and I don’t think that is acceptable,” Browne said.
Former Labour minister Jennifer Baptiste-Primus also has her eyes set on Saturday’s meeting.
“I am looking forward to adherence to the constitution and respect of the constitution of the People’s National Movement.”
Questions were sent to PNM general secretary Foster Cummings regarding the agenda for the General Council meeting but there was no response up to news time.
Last year, the party’s internal elections and special convention were postponed. However, when Rowley announced Young as his successor on Monday, he said the party would hold a convention in September to deal with the leadership issue.