00:00I am satisfied that the work that I would have done over the last nine and a half years
00:04makes me the ideal candidate to return.
00:07I've done the work as a sitting member of parliament, as an opposition MP.
00:11Maro MP Roshan Paré speaking with TV6 News while he attended day one of AmCham TNT's
00:17HSSE conference at the Hyatt Regency on Tuesday.
00:21Just one day earlier, outgoing Naperima MP Rodney Charles issued a statement calling
00:26for transparency in the UNC's process for the selection of candidates for the general
00:31election due next year, 2025.
00:34Opposition leader Kamala Bissetta said the UNC is the only political party that has held
00:39transparent democratic internal elections when due, and also the only party that has
00:44a properly elected and functioning national executive.
00:48There's a screening exercise, I've done it twice, to comment on whether it's any single
00:55person's decision of who sits in a seat.
00:58I will go with what I understand to be the process.
01:01There is a committee.
01:04I would have submitted my application for a renewal since December last year.
01:10I suspect that I should be treated like everybody else.
01:14MP Paré led a slate in the UNC's internal elections earlier this year, which lost to
01:19the slate endorsed by the opposition leader.
01:22I remain committed to the United National Congress.
01:24I still believe that the UNC is the best vehicle to governance.
01:27There are leadership issues that I think if we don't address going into 2025 and preparing
01:33for a general election, it's going to make it more difficult.
01:36Waiting for the PNM to collapse is not going to help us.
01:40Winning election is one thing, governing is another issue.
01:43Do you think that should happen under the leadership of Mrs. Bissetta, the present leader
01:48of the UNC and present opposition leader?
01:50Well, she is the leader.
01:51She is the de facto leader until the party decides otherwise.
01:56She is the leader of the party.
01:57She is the leader of the opposition.
01:59However, there is a team that must advise appropriately.
02:03I do not believe that she's been advised appropriately.
02:07That was the nature of the constitutional election.
02:11The framers of our party's constitution gives you a two-year window as a leadership team.
02:17And if the membership of the party feels that you're not doing the right thing, there is
02:21a window for an election, which is what we did in June of this year.
02:25The opposition leader said on Monday that the UNC's screening process is ongoing.
02:30So what if Mr. Parry is not selected by the UNC's screening committee?
02:35What would you do if you still want to seek to contest the constituency as a candidate
02:41for the next general election?
02:43Well, what I can tell you now is that there are several ways of serving outside of the
02:46parliament, right?
02:48I served my community as a businessman prior to 2015.
02:53I have an option to go back there.
02:56Whether my worth is seen by the UNC at that point in time, I can tell you during the campaign,
03:03I had the position that the United National Congress umbrella must be open to everybody.
03:10And there must be conversations by everyone because to fight the PNM, you need a solid,
03:16you know, united team.
03:18Mr. Parry also hinted at another option if he is not selected to be a UNC candidate in 2025.
03:26I do believe if my vote is there, somebody else might see it.
03:30But I remain hopeful that the United National Congress values the work that I have done.
03:35They will go into the constituency, they're going to ask about it, and they'll do some
03:39assessment and they will make a decision on that.
03:41So just like everybody else, I don't have a crystal ball, but I can tell you my work
03:45in national development is not done and it's not finished by any, any, anywhere close.
03:52Mr. Parry said he and the other opposition MPs who were on his slate in the UNC internal
03:57elections will be attending the next sitting of the House of Representatives on Friday.
04:03Jule Brown, TV6 News.
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