00:00At a UNC Monday Night Report meeting on July 7th, the party's political leader, Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Besessa, made this announcement.
00:08The natucks of our great party will soon meet to decide on the date for the internal election of its political leader.
00:20I give you notice tonight, I intend to contest again for the position of political leader.
00:30A week later, on Monday, July 14th, the UNC's natucks, the party's national executive, met and announced that the decision was taken to hold the election for the post of political leader on the 17th of August of this year.
00:44Prime Minister Passat-Besessa has been the political leader of the United National Congress since 2010 when she led the UNC-led People's Partnership to victory in that year's general election and became Trinidad and Tobago's first female prime minister.
00:57When the partnership lost the 2015 general election, Senior Counsel Passat-Besessa was opposition leader for almost 10 years until she led the UNC and its coalition of interests to victory in the 2025 general election on April 28th.
01:14Prime Minister Passat-Besessa now leads a government which has a special majority in the House of Representatives, something she made an apparent reference to at the UNC's Monday Night Report in Penal.
01:25I hope you will give me the honor of leading you into this term in government.
01:33I'll take you there and together we'll get things done.
01:38And on July 7th, the prime minister not only repeated her intention to serve as the UNC's leader for another term, she also had a message for her party's membership.
01:48So, again, for those who did not hear, maybe turning an open door in the fridge and closing the door, I intend to contest as political leader of the United National Congress.
02:04Any and every member of the United National Congress, you have a right to file a nomination for the position of political leader.
02:19If you want it, come and take it.
02:26It remains to be seen if Prime Minister Passat-Besessa will face any competition for the post of the UNC's political leader or contest that post unopposed.
02:35The UNC has announced that nomination day will be July 27th.
02:41Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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