FORDE FACES FIGHT FROM PNM AND CONSTITUENTS

DEPUTY Speaker Esmond Forde is facing a double-headed challenge as incumbent Member of Parliament for Tunapuna.

Forde is experiencing growing opposition from within the PNM camp to his candidacy in the upcoming general election,

And he has been dealing with disenchantment among constituents to his performance since his election in 2015.

The dissatisfaction with Forde among constituents places the PNM at risk of losing the marginal constituency in the forthcoming national poll.

Three PNMites have lined up to challenge the MP during screening for candidates on December 2.

Foster Cummings, who is leading an insurgent movement against certain incumbents, is said to be supporting the anti-Forde hopefuls.

A poster and social media campaign is expected before the screening takes place at Balisier House.

Michael Seales, former head of the Police Service Social and Welfare Association, is one of Forde’s PNM challengers.

Seales, an attorney, contested the Tabaquite seat on a PNM ticket in 2020.

The MP is being portrayed as an ineffective representative in a constituency with high rates of crime, unemployment, and poverty.

Some former Forde loyalists are grousing that he has been inactive while social and economic issues have worsened.

Even though the MP is not in the Cabinet, he is viewed as a member of the heavily-criticised Rowley administration.

He holds the largely ceremonial post of Deputy Speaker.

Just as with Laventille West and other PNM-held urban constituencies, there is disquiet over the lack of opportunities and increasing hardship.

“Our constituency is a heartland for crime,” an Auzonville resident stated, “and our representative is nowhere to be seen.

“He makes an occasional guest appearance but does not do anything of substance.”

A businessman along the Eastern Main Road complained about criminal extortions and other offences and the inability of the police to make arrests.

There is heavy gang activity in Tunapuna.

In May, the police seized 20 illegal gang cameras in the community.

In 2020, Forde won the seat by a margin of 1,926 votes, compared to a difference of 3,615 votes five years earlier.

Some constituents are discussing supporting the UNC or staying away from the polls.

An ex-Forde supporter said: “It is unthinkable that our MP was not placed in a delivery ministry from which he could assist his constituents.

“Being Deputy Speaker is a non-job; he is basically a backbencher.”

The anti-incumbent uprising is expected to reach a fever pitch in time for the screening exercise.

Campaigners close to Cummings expect that some challengers to sitting MPs will be successful.

Toco-Sangre Grande, in which there is a high unemployment and poverty, is among the constituencies in which there is hope for success.

The current MP is Roger Munroe, a backbencher.

The Fitzgerald Hinds-Kareem Marcelle showdown in Laventille West is at a deadlock amid frustration over joblessness and other issues.

The PNM’s ruling elites are accused of facilitating a widening divide between rich and poor.

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, who recently put off the party’s annual convention, is facing the sternest internal test to his leadership.

There is speculation that Rowley and the Screening Committee will opt for some new candidates in order to damper the unrest in the ruling party.