Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley says to have a People’s National Movement (PNM) led by someone other than himself will be like “snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory,” in the next general election. He was responding to two polls which showed a Rowley-led PNM would win a general election but a Pennelope Beckles-Robinson led PNM would win by a greater margin. The polls, done by Solutions by Simulation, run by Nigel Henry, were taken in November 2013 and last month.
Speaking at a PNM meeting at Chaguanas North Secondary School on Monday night, Rowley said it was teamwork that had lifted up the party after its crushing defeat in the 2010 election. Referring to the latest polls, he said: “But you know there are persons who are trying to guide us. All of a sudden we need guidance from outside the PNM.” He said the polls concluded the days of the United National Congress were numbered and the PNM would win the general election.
“But the poll also says that if you vote for somebody else other than Keith Rowley you will win all seats. Yes, you will win the election but if you want more seats you can vote for somebody else.” Recalling other polls which showed the PNM would lose the local government elections, St Joseph by-election and the Tobago House of Assembly elections, he said: “The poll is now telling you that if you vote for somebody else you will win more seats.
“So you wouldn’t win 12 seats in Tobago, you will win more than 12. And you wouldn’t win all the seats in Port-of-Spain, you will win more than the 12 that they have, and you wouldn’t win all in Diego Martin you will win more than that. “And you wouldn’t win all in Arima, you will win more than that. You wouldn’t win all in Point Fortin and you wouldn’t bring them close to diarrhoea in Siparia and Chaguanas.
“And you who followed me and the team to victory in three elections, now that the poll is confirming that the PNM will win the next election, the same poll is telling you change the leader.” As he recalled the story of the dog and the bone, he said: “Our advisers are advising us to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory,” in the general election. The political leader warned members against taking advice of PNM outsiders and opponents.
He said: “If you make the correct decision with respect to leadership the outcome of the general election will be a foregone conclusion.” Rowley also denied the claim by a prominent PNM member that he had appointed an election committee to give himself and his slate an advantage in the party elections. He said the 21-member committee, comprising experienced members who are not actively campaigning, were approved by the PNM’s general council to ensure the integrity of the May 18 elections.
As for the people who are on his slate, Rowley said he would announce their names at an appropriate time. Rowley also denied a Sunday Guardian report that race allegations and conflict in the run-up to the elections were widening rifts in the party. He also said the PNM was to host a retreat for young serving members of the party on the weekend after Carnival in Princes Town to “drum into their heads PNM policy and PNM commitment to good governance.”