00:00TV6 News spoke with Patriotic Front political leader Michela Pandey via telephone on Wednesday
00:06to find out if her party will be keeping its promise last year following the official announcement
00:12on Tuesday that the 2025 general election will take place in just over six weeks time
00:19on April 28th.
00:20We will be prepared to contest 41, as we said, and we learned, as we all should do, from
00:28previous mistakes, and I kind of understand the M.O. now, so we expected that something
00:36was going to come, not on that exact date, given that so much had happened, the Prime
00:42Minister resigned to simply put another Prime Minister to appoint another cabinet to then
00:48call an election, so I didn't think it was the 28th, but it has to come, it was this
00:54year, and we've been working feverishly for a long time.
00:58The Patriotic Front did not contest the 2020 general election, as Ms. Pandey then said
01:04her party could not have successfully campaigned 41 constituencies in three weeks.
01:11Almost five years later, Ms. Pandey made one comparison between her party, the PNM, and
01:17the UNC.
01:18We are a new party, so yes, it's a bit more work, we don't have the kind of financing
01:24that they do, so in different ways you're at a disadvantage, but I mean, we have strengths
01:31as well, and we are ready to go forward.
01:34TV6 News has sought an update from Ms. Pandey about her stated efforts to have dialogue
01:38with the leader of the UNC, opposition leader Kamala Prasad Bissessa.
01:43I've not been able to reach her, but you know, life goes on, time goes on, things change,
01:49and we move forward.
01:50The people we are speaking to are people who want change.
01:55However, Ms. Pandey told TV6 News while her party is willing to work with those who want
02:00real change, as she described it, she has a very specific requirement.
02:05I will not, however, sell my soul or my integrity or the party for anything, and what you have
02:15seen is political grasshopping of the most shameless degree.
02:24My purpose is, will this benefit the party, will it benefit the people of Trinidad and
02:30Tobago, or is it going to benefit other politicians?
02:34Ms. Pandey told TV6 News that the Patriotic Front has already selected 14 candidates and
02:39will name its remaining 27 general election candidates soon.
02:44That seat, constituency, will be contested on behalf of the Patriotic Front.
02:51It will be announced with the rest of them.
02:54Ms. Pandey said her party's manifesto will soon be launched, and she hopes voters will
02:59make their choice based on policy and quote, not race or blind loyalty, end quote.
03:06Jule Brown, TV6 News.
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