00:00It's official, the country's main opposition party, the United National Congress, will
00:05be contesting the upcoming general election as a coalition.
00:09This evening we had some meetings with PEP, with the Love Movement and with the new UWT
00:17members.
00:18There are several unions otherwise who are in reach with us and they will identify themselves.
00:23We have all agreed to engage, to work together with respect to a coalition of individuals.
00:31Screening for the UNC is expected to be completed by next week and while the opposition leader
00:36says there are very many coalition details still to be worked out, the apportioning of
00:41seats will be in alignment with each party's competitive advantage.
00:46For the Love Movement, their interest is in Laventille and Port of Spain South.
00:51We have one common enemy as well, we have common interests, common enemy, you know.
00:56Common enemy clearly is the PNM.
00:59And the People's Empowerment Party previously formalised their union and the leader, Philip
01:04Alexander, is here for the long haul.
01:07There's no part of Trinidad and Tobago that has escaped the malicious hammer of the PNM.
01:14Because only the United National Congress commands the numbers that are required to
01:20remove the PNM.
01:22Re-elected UWTU President Ansel Roger, endorsed for a seventh time, can now sign on to the
01:29coalition's dotted line.
01:31Unlike a certain political party and a political leader, we are not afraid of putting ourselves
01:38out to the membership for unilateral purposes.
01:43Some people are running and hiding from that.
01:46He's in it with the Yellow Party to see to fruition the workers' agenda.
01:51We have suffered some nine years going into ten of what I would describe as reverse development,
01:58underdevelopment.
02:00And if they are allowed to get another term, we will not recognise Trinidad and Tobago
02:09in the first year of that other term.
02:12Pesard-Bissassa says those gathered at the UNC's table have been tried and tested.
02:17I have seen some parties surfacing.
02:19Where were they for nine years?
02:21And just because there's an election, all these parties are popping up and holding themselves
02:25also to be the saviours to rescue Trinidad and Tobago.
02:28Look, I have no problems, we have no problems looking at anyone, but the guys who are sitting
02:32here with us have a track record of standing for people.
02:37The UNC, Pesard-Bissassa says, has had no talks with Prakash Ramadar of the Congress
02:42of the People, and there's no interest in Gary Griffith's NTA.
02:46I am not interested in working with the NTA, I have reason and cause.
02:51The NTA has been very disrespectful to the elected members of my executive.
02:56I don't even know if they have an elected executive.
02:59But the elected members of the UNC, they have been very disrespectful, and I cannot see
03:04how we can work with them in that kind of a scenario.
03:08And if the UNC is to win the upcoming election, it will have to do so without the two Tobago
03:13constituencies.
03:14I've always said, and I keep that position, we keep it, we will not run candidates in
03:20Tobago.
03:21I am of the view that the people of Tobago should be the ones to choose whom they wish
03:26to govern from the parties out of Tobago.
03:29We will not contest the Tobago situation.
03:33In a recent quiz about her manifesto, the opposition leader turned the proverbial guns
03:37on the reporters, asking which other parties' manifestos they have seen.
03:41She also refused to reveal who's doing her polling.
03:44Urvashi Tewari, Rupan Rai, TV6 News.
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