United National Congress
The United National Congress is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago and the main opposition party. The UNC is a centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, economist, trade unionist, and actor after a split in the ruling National Alliance for Reconstruction. After spending six years in opposition, the UNC won control of the government in 1995. In the 2000 general election, the UNC won an absolute majority in the Parliament. In 2001, a split in the party caused the UNC to lose its parliamentary majority and control of the government. From 2001 to 2010, the UNC was once again Parliamentary Opposition party. In May 2010, the UNC returned to government as the majority party in the People's Partnership. The UNC's Political Leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, was sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.
The party symbol is the sun rising above the Trinity Hills. Historically, the UNC has been supported by a majority of Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonians, and the different minorities of the country. The UNC is also colloquially called the Indian Party or the Hindu Party.
In opposition since the 2015 general election, the party holds 17 out of 41 Members of Parliament in the House of Representatives and 6 out of 31 members of the Senate. The party has 65 out of the 139 local councillors and is in control of 7 of the 14 regional corporations since the 2019 Trinidadian local elections. The party has no representation in the Tobago House of Assembly.
In 1993, under the party's founder, Basdeo Panday, the party became a member of the Christian Democrat Organization of America.
As of November 2015, the UNC has 95,000 registered members.
Opposition party (1989–1995)
The party was founded on 30 April 1989 following a split in the ruling NAR. Six members of parliament, all of whom were former members of the United Labour Front, left the NAR to form the Caucus for Love, Unity and Brotherhood 1988 which was chaired by Pt. Dr. Rampersad Parasram. CLUB '88 evolved into the UNC with Panday as leader and Parasram as its first chairman.The UNC won 13 seats in the 1991 general election and became the official opposition. It won a 14th seat in a by-election and gained another in 1995 when Ralph Maraj defected from the ruling People's National Movement party. In 1995, the UNC lost one seat when Hulsie Bhaggan, member of parliament for Chaguanas, left the party to form the Movement for Unity and Progress.
Governing party (1995–2001)
In the 1995 general election, the UNC won 17 of 36 seats and formed a coalition government with the NAR which won 2 seats. In exchange for his support, NAR Political Leader A. N. R. Robinson was first appointed Minister Extraordinaire and then elected President in 1997. Two PNM MPs defected and supported the UNC as independent members. This gave the UNC an absolute majority and caused relations with the NAR to deteriorate.In the 2000 general election, the UNC won 19 seats and formed a majority government. However, internal party elections in 2001 exposed a rift in the party between Panday and Attorney-General Ramesh Maharaj, who fielded rival slates. Maharaj's slate termed itself 'Team Unity'. Though Panday was not challenged as Political Leader, Maharaj's slate won 21 of the 24 executive posts, and Maharaj himself was elected Deputy Leader.
Panday refused to recommend Maharaj as Acting Prime Minister in his absence. Maharaj countered by initiating investigations into charges of corruption by Panday and his supporters. Panday then reduced the ministerial portfolios of Maharaj and his supporters. This led to the defection of Maharaj; two of his supporters, Agriculture Minister Trevor Sudama and Information Technology Minister Ralph Maraj, formed a new political party: Team Unity. Early elections were called in 2001, in which the UNC was reduced to 18 seats in the House of Representatives. The opposition PNM, which also won 18 seats, was called upon to form the government.
Return to opposition (2001–2010)
2002 general election
During the 2002 general elections, the UNC won 46.5% of the popular vote and 16 out of 36 seats in the House of Representatives. It became the opposition party to the ruling PNM government, which held the other 20 seats.Party infighting
In April 2005, the UNC was further weakened when Pointe-à-Pierre MP Gillian Lucky and San Juan MP Fuad Khan declared themselves to be "independent UNC members" and relocated to the Opposition backbenches. On 31 May 2005, Panday, his wife Oma, former UNC MP Carlos John, and party financier Ishwar Galbaransingh were arrested for bribery. Panday refused bail and remained in prison for eight days.On 2 September 2005, Panday announced that he would be willing to hand over party leadership to Winston Dookeran, MP for St. Augustine, if Panday could remain party chairman. As a result of negotiations between the two, Dookeran was nominated unopposed for the post of Political Leader and Panday was nominated unopposed for the party Chairmanship. However, both fielded rival slates for the remaining 16 executive posts.
On 2 October, Panday's slate won 12 of the posts including two of the three deputy leader positions and, after a recount, the vice-chairmanship. Dookeran's slate won the 4 remaining posts. Members of Dookeran's slate called for Panday's resignation as Leader of the Opposition. Gerald Yetming, MP for St. Joseph, joined the Opposition backbenches in protest of Panday's refusal to relinquish his position.
In February 2006, Panday announced that he had reconciled with Maharaj, who marked his return to the party by speaking at a party rally held at Mid-Centre Mall in Chaguanas on 19 February. At that rally, Dookeran criticized his party for accepting Maharaj's return and was booed by the crowd.
On 8 March 2006, Yetming announced he was formally leaving the UNC and would serve out his term as an independent. His chief reason was the return of Maharaj to the UNC, a move which he opposed.
As internal wranglings continued in the party, it appeared that a rift between Dookeran and the Executive was deepening. Newspaper accounts indicated that pro-Panday executives and Dookeran were largely functioning independently of each other. Dookeran also suffered a loss of support as Deputy Leader Jack Warner and Roodal Moonilal, MP for Oropouche, announced their support of Panday.
In March, Senator Robin Montano's Senate appointment was revoked by Panday. Montano had supported Dookeran and opposed the return of Maharaj to the UNC.
On 24 April, Panday was convicted of fraud for failing to disclose a bank account under the rules of the Integrity Act. He was sentenced to 2 years hard labour. At the UNC rally held that night Dookeran was not permitted to speak on the platform. Maharaj, however was seated centre stage at that rally.
On 25 April, Panday's appointment as Opposition Leader was revoked by President George Maxwell Richards. In a surprise move the next day, seven UNC MPs announced their support of Deputy Political Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar as the new Opposition Leader. Persad-Bissessar was appointed Opposition Leader the following day but stated that she would step aside should Panday's appeal prove successful.
The Courts released Panday on bail on Friday 28 April, on the ground of his medical ailments. Following his release on bail, he tendered his resignation as Chairman of the party on 1 May 2006. The UNC executive did not immediately accept his resignation.
Resignation of Dookeran and return of Panday
In the months following, infighting in the UNC increased. Dookeran and the party Executive were entrenched in opposing positions. Dookeran organised his own political apparatus and held political meetings without the Executive's consent. He also ceased to attend Executive meetings and his few allies on the Executive were removed. Persad-Bissessar also replaced Dookeran's supporters in the appointed Senate.Amidst the infighting, Panday returned to active politics in August 2006 and attempted to publicly broker a reconciliation between the two factions. This proved fruitless. Many, including Panday's supporters, privately held the view that Panday was working behind the scenes to undermine Dookeran's support within the Executive. Dookeran, who was seen as the legitimate Political Leader of the UNC, was unable to exercise the full powers granted to him in the Party's Constitution. However, Dookeran's call for internal change within the UNC was negatively viewed by some of the party's 'old guards' who felt their position threatened.
Panday loyalists organised themselves into a five-member Leadership Council, composed of the three Deputy Leaders, the Party CEO Tim Gopeesingh, and the newly-returned Maharaj. Panday was said to have been appointed as an advisor to the Council.
On 10 September at a large rally, Dookeran announced his resignation as UNC Political Leader and the formation of a new party: the Congress of the People. On 11 September, Panday resumed the Chairmanship of the party, and on 3 January 2007, Panday was reinstated as Political Leader of the party.
2007 general election
In the 5 November 2007 general election, the party won 29.73% of the popular vote and 15 out of 41 seats.Rise of Kamla Persad-Bissessar
On 24 January 2010, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, MP for Siparia, was elected the new leader of the UNC. In the internal election, she won 13,932 votes compared to 1,359 for Panday and 1,072 for Maharaj and became the first female leader of a major political party in Trinidad and Tobago.Return to government (2010–2015)
Based on a campaign of change against the PNM, the UNC was successful in the 2010 general election, and Persad-Bissessar was appointed as the first-ever female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. The UNC won a majority of 21 seats. Their coalition controlled 29 seats in total; the Congress of the People won 6 seats and the Tobago Organization of the People won Tobago's only 2 seats.After the election, the coalition showed signs of weakening. The Movement for Social Justice, which did not win any seats in the election, left the coalition due to discontent with the running of the government. The Tobago Organization of the People failed to win a single seat in the 2013 Tobago House of Assembly elections.
During 2013, the UNC lost 2 seats in by-elections in St. Joseph and Chaguanas West.
Second return to opposition
In the 2015 General Elections, the party won 17 of the 41 seats in the elections to form the main Opposition party in the 11th parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. Persad-Bissessar was appointed Leader of the Opposition by President Anthony Carmona on 21 September 2015.Internal elections
An internal party election was held on 5 December 2015, which Persad-Bissessar won. Controversy arose when ballots in favor of Dr. Roodal Moonilal were found near a river and at the back of a school used as a polling station. The ballots were left out in the open with no visible attempts to destroy or hide them. Some names were found twice on the voting list, which may have allowed one individual to vote twice. Dr. Moonilal filed a complaint for these issues to be rectified.List of Political Leaders
The political leaders of the United National Congress have been as follows :Key:
PM: Prime Minister
LO: Leader of the Opposition