UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says while many have questioned her leadership – mistaking her kindness for weakness – she believes effective leadership should revolve around love, care, empathy and emotional intelligence.

She highlighted the opposite of these traits coming from the PNM saying that party’s leadership has run a general election campaign that was the worst she has ever seen.

“The PNM has run an entire campaign based on negativity, unhappiness, smears and insults. In all my years (in politics) I have never seen any party run such a negative, insulting and abusive campaign.”

On her 73rd birthday, Persad-Bissessar addressed thousands at a UNC election campaign meeting at the La Joya carpark in the crucial constituency of Aranguez/St Joseph on April 22.

Persad-Bissessar said the PNM had not shown any love for the people on their election platform and no gratitude to the citizens.

“They have no love or loyalty for you. Their behaviour is steeped in selfishness, narcissism and disloyalty.”

As she has implored at other campaign meetings, Persad-Bissessar urged the public to vote.

“You must take the day off from work, then go to the polls early and cast your vote for the UNC and its coalition partners. Then we must continue the mission by bringing every single person you know and care about, to the polls to vote.”

[caption id="attachment_1150942" align="alignnone" width="1024"] UNC's Tunapuna candidate laughs as he greets his political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar at the UNC's general election campaign on Tuesday night at the La Joya carpark in St Joseph. - Photo by Angelo Marcelle[/caption]

As the crowd throughout the night shouted, “Vote them out!” she said voting for the UNC secures the country’s future.

“The vote on April 28 is for your grandparents to keep their pensions, for your brother, sister or friend to get meaningful jobs and for us to reopen the GATE programmes. Education is the passport out of poverty. We will give the education sector priority. The children are our future.

“This vote is to end the property tax, increased public servant salaries and to settle their wage negotiations. A vote for the UNC will also keep utility rates low and to make the streets and communities safer.” She added a vote for the UNC on April 28 meant a reopened Couva Children’s Hospital, laptops back in schools and a reformer education system.

Both Persad- Bissessar and UNC Tunapuna candidate Roger Alexander said content creators will also be allowed to monetise their social media as a means of income. Persad-Bissessar said a vote for the UNC will give citizens the best quality of life.

“This is for people-centred governance and for you the citizens can hold us to account for everything we say on this platform.”

She endorsed candidate for Aranguez/St Joseph Devesh Maharaj and asked him to put “a licking, a political licking” on former MP and PNM candidate Terrence Deyalsingh.

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