“I would like to see CARICOM help us to introduce democracy in Trinidad and Tobago. As you know, we have not had a sitting of the Parliament for several months now and you can’t have a democracy without a Parliament,” Panday told a news conference yesterday at Le Meridien Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown, Guyana.

Panday described the current government in Trinidad as being “no longer a Parliamentary democracy but rather an Executive Dictatorship since it is accountable to nobody”.

According to Panday, he would like to see CARICOM assist the twin-island Republic “in pressing upon the so-called Prime Minister to call elections because that is the only way out”.

The former Prime Minister arrived in Guyana last Friday on the first of several overseas visits to raise funds for campaigning in general elections expected later this year in Trinidad and Tobago.

Panday, who leads the United National Congress (UNC), will also travel to Toronto, Miami, and London to engage in these activities.

The UNC controls an equal number of seats in the Parliament with the government. The UNC and the People’s National Movement (PNM) tied with 18 seats each in last December’s snap general elections.

Panday was removed from power when President Arthur N.R. Robinson selected Manning as Prime Minister. The government, in its first attempt last March, failed to get support for the election of a Speaker to preside over the proceedings in Parliament.

“As you know, I am down here for one purpose and one purpose only. And that is to raise funds for general elections in Trinidad and Tobago which I expect will be held before the end of the year,” Panday told the local media corps yesterday.

“I have had several requests from the media to meet with them so I thought I would do it collectively rather than individually…so gentlemen, I am at your mercy,” he told reporters here.

Asked about the success of the fundraising activities here and the sum garnered so far, Panday responded: “I knew you would ask me that and I know you would not expect me to tell you!”

He, however, offered that the fundraising activities here were arranged by several persons - both Guyanese and Trinidadians - “who are interested in the return to democracy” in Trinidad and Tobago.

He pointed out that elections alone would not solve the fundamental problems of Trinidad and Tobago. He proposed as the answer to the problem -- Constitutional Reform.

Panday alluded to the fact that in societies such as Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, politics have traditionally been based on racial cleavages, and people tend to vote because of race.

“What happens is that no matter which party wins, the other party feels it has been totally alienated from the political process (and) that is the result of the Westminster system (single member constituency/first past the post system). And there has been traditionally, both in Guyana and in Trinidad and Tobago, that feeling and that fear of group domination…and we need to deal with that.”

Asked why he did not do something about this when he was in power, the former Prime Minister responded: “I needed Constitutional majority and I did in fact approach Mr. Manning with a view to Constitutional Reform. He said he was in favour of it, but not yet.”

Asked what specific change he would like to see in Trinidad, Panday said he would like to see reduced, the feeling of alienation and the fear of group domination that exist in the society.

He said that for some 15 years he has been ‘simplistically’ suggesting the adoption of power sharing for his country.

“I believe that there can be a system by which you have an Executive President and the elections for an Executive President will choose not only the President, but will choose also the Prime Minister. The President will come from the party that wins and the party that comes second (the other party) will choose the Prime Minister,” he explained.

“In that way, you have both the major groups in society participating in the whole electoral process,” he added.

According to him, that is one way of power sharing. “It’s simplistic, and there are many variations on the theme, (but) of course, that will also mean that the parliamentary structure will have to change in that the President, with him being an Executive President, will have to put forward his programme before a Parliament, which is presided over by somebody from the other party.”

This increased participation from both sides ought to help, Panday reasoned.

He also indicated that he had suggested a “minimal” constitutional change before the next elections “if we can’t have the full thing”.

According to him, the party that wins the majority of votes after the elections forms the government in the event of an 18-18 (deadlock) situation.

Meanwhile, it is understood that the four-member team that probed the conduct of the 2000 and 2001 general elections in Trinidad and Tobago has been coming under fierce criticisms for calling on the five Commissioners of the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to offer their resignations to President A.N.R. Robinson.

Commenting on this suggestion by the team, Panday yesterday described it as “an atrocious suggestion”.

According to him, “It is in breach of the Constitution; it appears to be manipulated; it’s disgraceful because the Constitution provides that the members of the Electoral and Boundaries Commission should be chosen by the President, but having been chosen by the President, there is a very special procedure for removing them. And all of this was set up to make it independent…”

He said that this is “a constitutional safeguard and to suggest that they should resign, and to suggest that the Chief Elections Officer (Howard Cayenne) should be elected by contract is to violate the Constitution in the worst possible way and to remove all the checks and balances which were intended by the founding fathers of the Constitution.”

Panday used his meeting with the local media yesterday to dispel the rumour that he was in Guyana during the eve of the 2001 general elections.

“Well you can dispel that (rumour). It is untrue. I was not in Guyana. They have no records at the Immigration (to prove otherwise). I’m sure,” Panday countered.

He then queried whether the report emanated from a Trinidadian newspaper, and when answered in the affirmative that it was in the Trinidad `Mirror’ newspaper, he said sarcastically: “Then the only thing you can believe in that paper is the name of the paper - `Mirror’ - the rest of it you can discard.”

When further told that a Trinidadian television newscast was alleged to carried information that he had boarded a flight from Trinidad to Guyana on the morning of the eve of the Guyana elections, Panday said: “That can’t be true.”

“You can check with (BWIA). Surely I know where I was and that’s untrue. You can check with Bee Wee. You can check with anybody. I was not here.”

Asked to comment on the appointment of Prime Minister Manning by President Robinson, Panday said: “The President will appoint the person who, in his opinion, will command the majority support in the Parliament. When Mr. Robinson appointed Mr. Manning, he said he appointed him on the basis of moral and spiritual values, nothing to do with the Constitution at all, (which is a) total and obscene violation of the Constitution.”

“…I am merely commenting on it because it is the wrong thing and he has been proven to be wrong,” Panday asserted.

Asked whether the UNC is willing to welcome back to the fold, former Attorney General and Deputy Leader Ramesh Maharaj, Panday said that such as decision would have to be made by the party.

On the issue of due process and in light of the fact that a number of ministers in the last UNC administration have been accused of corruption, Panday was asked whether due process is going to continue.

“There is a growing feeling in Trinidad and Tobago that due process will not take place in so far as the UNC or the people associated with the UNC are concerned,” he responded.

Queried if this will have an impact on the upcoming elections, Panday said it certainly would.

“And more than that. Many people are denied the constitutional means of resolving their problems and airing their grievances and finding redress,” he said.

According to him, there is a tendency to resort to extra-legal and non-Constitutional means. “So it’s a dangerous thing to interfere with the institutions of state that act as a bulwark against the freedom and rights of all walks of people,” he declared.

The former Trinidad PM said he paid a courtesy call on President Bharrat Jagdeo during his brief stay here, and that the two “talked about the problems of Guyana and Trinidad and exchange notes and that sort of thing”.

Panday also admitted that some of the situations and problems affecting his country are very similar to that being experienced here in Guyana.

“Right now, you are engaged in a battle against crime. A similar situation is arising in Trinidad. There is also the question of falling investments in Trinidad because of the state of political uncertainty and political instability (there). And that is a similarity between our two countries as well,” Panday said.

Responding to a question as to what lessons the two countries (Guyana and Trinidad) can draw from each other, Panday responded: “I believe there is need, first of all for Constitutional Reform...the thing is that people should live together. You should do whatever you can to create a situation that is conducive to people (living and working) together in peace and harmony.”

“Without that, you can’t mobilise your human resources. And in countries such as ours with small human resources, if you put up (one set of) the human resources against the other half, you dissipate all your energies and there is no energy left to go forward. And this has been a similar problem in Guyana and Trinidad.”

“So I am saying, how do you find a mechanism for uniting our people?” Panday questioned.

“We’ve talked of national unity; we’ve talked of power sharing; we’ve talked of all kinds of things,” he said.

According to him, Constitutional Reform is one such method or instrument for obtaining that goal. He, however, hastened to point out that the whole question of education then comes in. The focus will be “on educating our people to believe that their interest lies in working together”.

The former Prime Minister also expressed optimism that the population will force the political parties in the twin-island Republic to have Constitutional Reform.

“I believe the population is going to force us to have Constitutional Reform. We are advocating Constitutional Reform, but the present government is against it. I believe if we have an 18-18 situation again, Constitutional reform is going to be forced upon those in charge by the desire of the people because I don’t think people like what’s going on,” Panday asserted.

In this regard, he pointed out that the Trinidad economy “is slowing down, unemployment is rising (and) all kinds of things are happening in Trinidad”.