SIX United National Congress (UNC) Aldermen could get the boot because of their suspected support for embattled UNC Political Leader Winston Dookeran.

Elections for mayors, vice-chairmen and aldermen are expected to take place on or about July 15.

Government is moving to extend the life of the 14 regional corporations, which comes to end on July 13.

The Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Bill is currently being debated in Parliament.

Councillors of the regional corporations will vote for aldermen and after they are selected, both councillors and aldermen would cast their votes for mayors of the four boroughs.

UNC officials say the election of aldermen would be a test for both Dookeran and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, (who are leading two factions of the UNC) as to who the councillors are throwing their support behind.

“If the aldermen are not re-elected, it would mean that Kamla has won round one of getting UNC councillors to support her,” one alderman said.

Sources in the UNC say there is a list of aldermen who may not be re-elected because they are supporting Dookeran, who is facing a no-confidence motion in his leadership of the party.

The names of some aldermen who are listed not to be re-elected are:

Allan Sammy and Ken Emrith (Penal/Debe Regional Corporation); Naidu Powdhar (Chaguanas Borough); Kemchand Ramdath chairman of the Princes Town Regional Vorporation; Jewan Mungroo, chairman and Lennox Sankersingh, vice-chairman, Couva/Talparo/Tabaquite Regional Corporation.

About two months ago, Powdhar declared himself an Independent Alderman in the Chaguanas Borough Council.

This decision could see him being booted out the job.

Powdhar is being accused of supporting Dookeran.

One source said that Ramdath is back in Persad-Bissessar’s corner.

In the case of Mungroo, sources say there is an ongoing rift between him and some of the councillors, who may not vote him back in the corporation.

Senior UNC officials and MPs are lobbying Chaguanas Mayor Suruj Rambachan to take a seat in the Senate.

He is reportedly considering the offer.

If he steps down as mayor, sources say his place could be taken by Councillor Gopaul Boodan, who served as deputy mayor under Orlando Nagessar.

Boodan is reportedly being groomed to one day take over the mayor’s chair.

One UNC official said that Rambachan wants a seat in Parliament and is eyeing the newly created constituency of Chaguanas East.

He has been staging several walkabouts in that constituency, meeting residents.

Meanwhile, insiders in the People’s National Movement (PNM) say there are also several PNM aldermen to be axed.

A PNM source said the party wants to give some other activists a chance to serve as aldermen until the general election constitutionally due next year.

A UNC official said the reason Prime Minister Patrick Manning did not call Local Government elections this year was that he did not want the two factions in the UNC to come together to fight the PNM in the polls.

PNM activists fear the election call would have given the UNC a boost to heal its wounds and put up a strong united front to fight the PNM.

“If the UNC had recaptured some of the seats they lost in the last Local Government polls, the party would have remained united until the general election,” a PNM official said.