UNITED National Congress (UNC) councillors and activists came under heavy fire from the party’s executive for failing to get a massive turnout of financial members at last Saturday’s National Assembly at the Rienzi Complex, Couva, which caused a “no-confidence” motion against Political Leader Winston Dookeran to flop.

The UNC was forced to throw out the motion and turn to its plan “B” which was to invite Dookeran to a meeting of the executive on Wednesday of this week.

If he failed to show up, he would be put before the disciplinary committee of the UNC and from there other procedures would follow.

A motion also to bring back former UNC chairman Basdeo Panday had to be put on hold because of the poor turnout of financial members.

According to the UNC constitution, the party needed 75 per cent of the financial members for the “no confidence” vote.

Officials of the UNC claim that there are more than 25,000 financial members but only about five per cent (1,250) turned out on Saturday.

The crowd, which was estimated at under 2,000, was made up mainly of UNC supporters and members of the defunct Team Unity party, which was led by former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj -- now back in the UNC fold.

Inside sources told TnT Mirror there were fears among the hierarchy of the UNC that if the executive had gone ahead with the “no confidence” motion, the Dookeran camp could have challenged that decision in the court, arguing that it was unconstitutional because a two-thirds majority of the financial members would have been required to take that decision.

That is why the sources said, when Panday addressed some irate supporters, who were demanding to throw Dookeran out of the party, he told them to look at the legal implications of expelling Dookeran, which he said could probably “tie up” the party in the courts for months or even years. Two councillors were later accused of pocketing the money that was supposed to be spent on mobilising the financial members to turnout for the Assembly.

WINSTON
DOOKERAN

JACK WARNER

RAMESH
LAWRENCE
MAHARAJ

BASDEO
PANDAY

A reliable source told Mirror the executive gave activists across the country hundreds of membership cards to give away in order to bring the “voters” out.

The executive had extended the financial membership for three years because a number of fed-up supporters failed to renew their one-year membership after the party went into Opposition following the general election in 2002.

After Saturday’s assembly ended, accusing fingers started pointing at certain persons and there were heated arguments as to who to blame for the shockingly poor turnout.

As a matter of fact, a disappointed and disgusted Jack Warner, one of the deputy political leaders, a friend and his driver left and headed to the R&R Restaurant in Chaguanas to “cool off”.

Warner did not show up for the “curry duck” and roti celebration in a private room at the Rienzi Complex.

He was later joined in Chaguanas by Ramesh Maharaj.

Sources in the Dookeran camp told Mirror the Political Leader would not attend the proposed Wednesday night executive meeting.

He would instead be calling officials of the executive to a meeting where he would put forward his agenda which would include, among other things, reinstating all the UNC officials who were kicked out of the party.

Dookeran is also proposing a national party rather than the wearisome, never-ending talk about unity.