Saving COP... (Strong Medicine)

The Congress of the People finds itself a Party in crisis and is in need of an urgent intervention if it is to survive. The defection of Marlene Coudray to the UNC's ranks is just the most glaring of the membership hemorrhage taking place as members  leave in droves, and there are rumors of Councillors and even Members of Parliament either already gone or negotiating to go. Many who have been thinking of publicly resigning have been convinced to hang on at least until internal elections in October, but the stench of remaining COP is becoming almost too much to bear.  The burning question on the lips of everyone within and without the COP is how can you possibly run the affairs of a country when you are clearly incapable of running a political party? How do you appoint Mayors and not have something like a reporting structure or even a regular caucus for all elected members to discuss Party strategy and policy? Surely the slow but sure decimation of the party HAS to be by design, because I refuse to believe that such epic failure could be accidental. The public and enthusiastic support of the UNC and its political leader by Prakash, Anil and others during the recent vote of no confidence further undermined the Party's authority over its own members, and the failure of its leaders to understand that has to be either part of a pre-planned and agreed to arrangement, or a massive lack of vision at the top. The problem is an obvious clear lack of leadership or direction, and the Party of so much promise now finds itself rudderless, powerless and at sea.

This is not meant to be anti-anybody, but is as pro-COP as I am capable of writing.

The ascension of Joseph Toney to the rank of Chairman under the most curious and dubious of circumstances has cast a bad light on the democracy of the Party, and to many his Chairmanship has no legitimacy at all. Challenged from even before the announcement of his victory with allegations that the election was questionably conducted and possibly rigged, he has presided over a continuous rejection of anything like an investigation into any wrongdoing and has caused many of the more vocal and passionate members to go dormant in disgust. Joseph Toney needs to step down or be removed as Chairman if the Party is to survive, as his unpopularity with the rank and file is hurting the Party's fortunes and his demonstrated incompetence in the position is contributing in no small way to the Party's demise.

Also, during the recently held elections for Political Leader I publicly supported Vernon De Lima for multiple reasons, but most importantly I believed him to be the only choice capable of living up to the promises the COP made to the electorate, that of standing by its principles and of keeping the UNC in check. I was also then and still am strongly of the view that Prakash Ramadhar simply had too may other significant responsibilities to be able to do justice to the post and would have failed because of it. It was always going to be impossible for him to build the COP into the national force its members want it to be, just as it was impossible for Winston Dookeran. He is still a Member of Parliament and a Government Minister in a Ministry that requires at the very least his full and focused attention, and he still has other pressing and personal responsibilities as well. The nation owes him a debt of gratitude for giving up so much for what can at times be such a thankless and tiring vocation, but even he must be seeing now that he is getting nowhere.

It is clear  that he needs to either step down as Political leader for the good of the Party and quite possibly the country as a whole, or the membership have to move  a vote of no confidence in him and remove him, again for his and the country's good. Something has to be done and urgently if there is going to be a COP in the future, otherwise the people's choices will be once again reduced to two openly racist, corrupt and externally-controlled Parties; to the many who are not racist, corrupt or willing to be traded and sold for for the religious or self serving agendas of others, that is the same as no choice at all.