Economist Dr. Thomson Fontaine has been narrowly re-elected leader of the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP), warning supporters it is important to end the divisiveness that could prevent the party taking control of the government in the near future.
Fontaine on Sunday polled 83 votes to the 75 received by newcomer, Pastor Randy Rodney, who had indicated that his decision to seek the top post of the opposition party was not taken lightly.
“It is one taken out of a burden, a burden to see justice strengthen, opportunities expanded and unity restored,” he said.
The pastor at the Truth and Grace Fellowship Global Church later declined nomination for the position of deputy leader.
In his address, Fontaine, a former employee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), told supporters that infighting within the party targeting him needed to come to an end.
“We are all in this together, Let us combine our efforts. Stop seeing faults, or the many faults in your leader and let us stand together. Let us resolve our differences and let us do it together.
“It is not acceptable that you sit on the sidelines, hoping that I fail as a leader, that’s not acceptable. If one of us fails, all of us fail and let me be the first to tell you that I am not in this to fail. We are in this together to win the next general election,” Fontaine said.
The UWP had formed the government here from 1995 to 2000 under Edison James, but lost out to the Dominica Labour Party (DLP) under Rosie Douglas who served from February 2000 until his death on October 1, 2000 and Pierre Charles, who succeeded him, serving from October 3, 2000, until his death on January 6, 2004.
The arty is now led by Prime Ministers Roosevelt Skerrit, who has been in office office since 2004.
Fontaine told supporters at the UWP event on Sunday that contesting the leadership of the party “is not child play…where you get vex and take your ball and go home” when you get vex.
“There is too heavy a price to pay if we fail. We are talking about the future of this country, for goodness sake,” Fontaine said, urging supporters to be patient as he implements strategies aimed at putting the party back in the corridors of power.
“So I am doing some things differently…in 2025, we are not in 1998. So I understand some of what I am doing may be different because we are not used to it…but…just be patient, be patient give it a chance, what is the rush.
“Give it a chance, don’t’ say it will not work, give it a chance. You know I wonder sometimes what exactly are we afraid of. The fact of the matter is and I challenge anyone to contradict me on this, we are gaining converts across this country.
“Persons who previously dismiss our party are willing to give us a second chance. They are drawn to our message of shared prosperity and how a United Workers Party government under my leadership will transform this country,” he added.
Prior to the elections for a new leadership, former UWP president Lennox Linton said the party remains confident that its annual leadership elections represent not a triviality, but a pillar of internal democracy “intended to keep us united, focused, and responsive to the people we serve”.
Linton issued a statement in response to a recent statement by Fontaine, in which he described the constitutionally mandated annual leadership elections as a “wash-your-foot-and-come” affair
Fontaine said he had concerns with the situation “because anybody come off the streets, wash their feet and challenge me for the leader.
“Are you really helping the party to have persons just come off the street every year and challenge for the leadership of the party. That’s what we have,” he added.
But in a statement, Linton, a former opposition leader, said that the National Executive Committee of the UWP had discussed the matter and that Fontaine has agreed to the release of the statement “because he wants us to “let the country decide”. (CMC)
