POLITICAL analyst Derek Ramsamooj has said the public commentary between the Prime Minister and the Opposition UNC over a townhouse bought by Dr Rowley boils down to an issue of political trust and credibility as the local government elections campaign enters the home stretch.

Rowley has rejected claims by members of the UNC, including political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, that he breached the Integrity in Public Life Act (ILPA).

The issue has also seen attorneys for UNC activist Ravi Balgobin Maharaj send a pre-action protocol letter on August 3 to the Integrity Commission's registrar, questioning why the commission terminated an investigation into the townhouse purchase.

The commission has until 4 pm on August 17 to respond to the letter or legal action will be initiated against it.

In offering his view, Ramsamooj steered clear of any potential legal action which could arise in the future.

"The issue regarding the legality of these property matters must be put aside."

From a political perspective, he said, "What we are seeing is a campaign that deals with public perception based on leadership credibility and trust."

He added the basis on which people vote for leaders has long been established.

"In our (political system), people vote for leadership who they can trust and whose actions they believe are more credible than the other."

Trust and the perception of credibility are critical commodities in politics.

Ramsamooj said, "Trust and the perception of credibility is what will drive our decisions to vote" for a particular party.

"Simply put, the public perception of trust and credible leadership is what is at play here in the last coming days of the campaign."

Ramsamooj offered no opinion as to who stood to gain or lose in this verbal battle between Rowley and the UNC ahead of next Monday's elections.

In rejecting the UNC's allegations against him, Rowley posted an excerpt of his declaration of income and assets and liabilities (form A) for 2019 to the commission on Facebook. The excerpt showed the townhouse listed among properties owned by himself and his wife on form A.

He also discussed the issue at length at Thursday's post-Cabinet press conference.

He emphasised there was no requirement on form B (a statement of registrable interests) to provide details about a townhouse, and the specific section for townhouse and condominium information was found on page 9 of form A.

“Note carefully there is nowhere on this form where one is required to fill in any detail about a townhouse. Note that in Form A it specifically shows where townhouse and condominium is shown (as required by the form on page 9).

He added: “Form B is always open to the public for scrutiny, but today I show extracts from the confidential form A so that the lies that are being published and fostered can be rebutted in their totality.”

He said his decision to share the confidential documents was intended to shed light on his compliance with the IPLA and provide the public with an opportunity to scrutinise the