Thirteen members of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ), including its leader David Abdulah, were nominated unopposed yesterday for another term of office. This means there will be no election on Sunday during their party’s congress, Abdulah confirmed after the close of the poll at 4 pm yesterday.
Nominations were opened at 9 am and all of the nominees on Abdulah’s slate completed and submitted their forms two and a half hours later. At the end of the exercise, conducted by Trevor Johnson of the elections committee, all nominees were unopposed. Abdulah explained that with no others opposing his executive team there was no need for ballot elections. “What will happen, in the afternoon on the agenda (at the party’s congress), the election committee will report to the congress and ratify the nomination,” he said.
Although this is his second term, it is the first time Abdulah has been elected. At the first election, held during the founding congress in May 2011, Labour Minister Errol Mc Leod was elected to lead the party. Abdulah succeeded Mc Leod when McLeod resigned in January 2012, when the MSJ withdrew from the People’s Partnership.
He said most of the team, including chairman Vincent Cabrera, deputy chair Andrea Ali and general secretary Oswald Warwick, were among the original team, but going forward there will be transitions, as some of the people who want to serve are not yet ready to take up positions. Fielding questions about its strategy for the 2015 general election as an independent party or in partnership with others, Abdulah said it was early days yet.
At this point, he said although the MSJ had the respect of other parties and individuals, as it was the only party prepared to deal with social justice, it was not in any formal discussions with any party. On the agenda, he said, is a move to change the political culture and build a movement for fundamental change.
On Sunday, he said the party will be rolling out a public document to take the fight into communities in the form of cottage meetings and with focus groups consisting of professionals. “In that process an election strategy will emerge,” he said.
MSJ executive
• David Abdulah (political leader)
• Dr Roosevelt Williams
(deputy political leader)
• Vincent Cabrera (chair)
• Andrea Ali (deputy chair)
• Oswald Warwick
(general secretary)
• Ramkumar Narinesingh
(asst general secretary)
• William Celestine (treasurer)
• Oliver Elcock (education officer)
• Franka James (elections officer)
• Clyde Callender
(international relations officer)
• Akins Vidale (party organizer)
• Gregory Fernandez (PRO)
• Radakha Gualbance
(social services officer)