Courcy’s Intelligence Brief

It is not often that this service is drawn to the Caribbean, but an important lesson in the vagaries of democracy – and the significance of charisma – can be learnt from the 29 July by-election in the Chaguanas West constituency in Trinidad & Tobago.

The background is as follows:  The constituency has long been a stronghold of the principal party in the ruling People’s Party (PP) coalition, the United National Congress (UNC), which mostly draws its support from Trinidadians of East Indian origin.  The constituency was won at the last election for the UNC by Jack Warner, a charismatic politician of African descent.

Warner is a highly controversial figure who was vice president of the  governing body of world football, Fifa, and president of the Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) from 1990 until 2011.  Warner was implicated in a number of corruption scandals, and Concacaf published a highly critical report of his activities in April 2011, concluding that he had committed fraud against both Concacaf and Fifa. 

Following the Concacaf report, Warner resigned as Minister of National Security, as chairman of the UNC, and as member of parliament for Chaguanas West.  It is the subsequent by-election which Warner has just won.

There are a number of astounding features of this resurrection of Warner.  Firstly, in deeply riven Trinidad, it is noteworthy that he was originally such a powerful figure in the predominantly East-Indian UNC.  Secondly, having now stood against the UNC in a constituency dominated by voters of East Indian origins, he has won a resounding victory despite his origins and despite the powerful allegations of corruption.

Nor was he remotely contrite during his campaigning.  He waged a campaign of vilification against the government, including launching allegations of corruption, presumably on the grounds that attack is the best form of defence.  And in one episode that would have finished any normal candidate in any normal election, a former government minister from Guyana, Jailall Kissoon, made a campaign speech in favour of Warner in which he said: “Jack Warner ever steal from Indians in Chaguanas West?  Jack Warner ever thief from black people in area?  [No].  So what wrong if he make money from white man?”  Warner at least had the good sense to send Kissoon packing on the first flight back to Guyana, but otherwise he just shrugged it off.

Some 18,000 people cast their vote in the 29 July by-election, and of these 12,642 voted for Warner against just 5,129 for the UNC’s official candidate.  As an illustration of the power of charisma in politics it can hardly be bettered. 

NOTE: That China’s attitude towards democracy remains negative was reflected in a commentary on Egypt’s political woes on 30 July in the Chinese-owned Hong Kong daily Ta Kung Pao.  The commentary argued that Egypt would pay a “bloody price” for promoting “American-style democracy” in Egypt.  It said that American-style democracy, long promoted as a “panacea for all problems” is “not accustomed to the climate” of the Islamic world – nor, it no doubt intended to be understood, for China.