Caribbean News Now!

ST GEORGE’S, Grenada -- The opposition New National Party (NNP) is predicting that Prime Minister Tillman Thomas will be a victim in the party’s victory over the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Grenada’s next general election.

At the 2008 polls, NNP – which had been in power for 13 year – was defeated 11 - 4 in a spirited NDC campaign spearheaded by a team that included party executive members, Peter David and Arley Gill.

In the four years since election, a chasm has emerged in the NDC and there has been growing tension over investment and economic policy issues, and on the delivery of promises made during the election campaign.

The situation has led to the resignation of David from government and in May, Gill was replaced in the senate by Dr George Vincent and lost his job as culture minister.

NNP leader and former prime minister, Dr Keith Mitchell, said recently that he believes general election will be before year-end.

The mood of the country, he also said, is “boldly in the NNP favour”.

Now, in an interview with CC6 TV, he predicts that one of the NDC casualties of the next election will be Prime Minister Thomas, who is MP for St Patrick East.

“It’s highly unlikely that he’ll be back in parliament,” Mitchell said of Thomas, who won his seat in 2008 by 104 votes over his NNP opponent.

Mitchell said his prediction is based on reports from the St Patrick East constituency, as well as “fatal mistakes” by Thomas who has “marginalized” key members of the NDC such as David, the party’s general secretary.

Meanwhile, NDC MP Karl Hood has said that he plans on writing George McGuire, Speaker of the House of Representatives, seeking to have a special session of parliament. The house has been in recess for the past several weeks.

Hood, who resigned as foreign minister in May, has filed a no-confidence motion against the government with the clerk of parliament, claiming that the Thomas-led administration “has failed to fulfill its promise to implement programmes that were marketed to deliver economic and social development to the people of the State of Grenada.”

The former foreign minister, and MP for St George South East, also charged that the “dismal mismanagement of the economy” has resulted in joblessness rising to “astronomical levels”.

Hood, in explaining his decision to seek a special parliamentary sitting, described the no-confidence motion as an “urgent matter that needs to be debated”.

Reads: 2473


Tweet