00:00On Monday, the office of the President announced that Arima MP Penelope Beckles-Robinson will be sworn in as the new opposition leader at the President's House on Tuesday afternoon.
00:11Just one day after the PNM announced, all 13 of its MPs signed the required letter in support of her leading their elected and non-elected members of Parliament.
00:22However, when the Arima MP takes her oath of office, she will do so while not being the political leader of the PNM.
00:29Former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley resigned as the PNM's political leader last week, and now that post is vacant.
00:37During a media conference at Balazsie House on Monday, TV6 used to sort clarification from the PNM's General Secretary, Foster Cummings.
00:45Now that a vacancy has been created with the resignation of Dr. Rowley, you can be assured that the party will move to fill the position of political leader
00:54within the confines of what the Constitution dictates, which is to say that within that six-month period, there will be an election for the position of political leader.
01:06The specific date will be decided by the General Counsel, and you will be advised.
01:12The PNM's General Secretary explained that its political leader can only be elected via a convention of the party using the one-man, one-vote system.
01:21The vacant posts of deputy political leaders can only be filled by the political leader, except that of the post of Tobago deputy leader,
01:31who is elected as leader for the Tobago Council by the party's members in Tobago.
01:36All other party positions can be filled by the General Counsel in between conventions,
01:45so that the position of chairman, which is currently now vacant following the resignation of Stuart Young SC,
01:56and the position of vice chairman, which previously was vacant,
02:00are two of the positions that qualify to be filled under Article 12-9.
02:06He then referred to one of the PNM's regulations, which states a special General Counsel meeting
02:11can be convened via a written request of 15 members of the party's General Counsel.
02:17And our request for this special General Counsel meeting is to fulfill the provisions of Article 12-9 of the Constitution,
02:24and this request is signed by 20 members of the General Counsel.
02:29In light of that, and having received that request, I have today issued a notice to the members of the General Counsel
02:37that a special meeting of the General Counsel will be convened tomorrow evening at 5.30 p.m.
02:45for the specific agenda purpose of the election of a party chairman and vice chairman by the General Counsel.
02:56Former Minister Rohan Sinanan resigned as a deputy political leader following the PNM's resounding loss to the UNC in the general election last week.
03:05On his last day as the political leader of the PNM,
03:08revoked the deputy political leader appointments of Colm Imbert and Dr. Nyan Gatsby-Dawley.
03:13This has led to speculation that there is division in the PNM.
03:16The party is united and doing its business to reorganize itself as the official opposition of Trinidad and Tobago
03:25and of course to take government at the shortest possible time.
03:28The PNM's new chairman and vice chairman will serve in those positions until a full convention is held to elect a new party executive.
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