United National Congress - Governing Party

Governing Party

In General Elections held in 1995 the UNC won 17 of 36 seats, and formed a coalition government with the National Alliance for Reconstruction which won 2 seats. In exchange for his support, NAR political leader ANR Robinson was first appointed Minister Extraordinaire and then elected President in 1997. Two PNM MPs defected from the party and supported the UNC as independent members. This gave the UNC an absolute majority, and led to deterioration in relations with the NAR.

In the 2000 elections the UNC won 19 seats forming the government outright. However, internal party elections in 2001 highlighted a rift in the party with Panday and Attorney-General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj in effect fielding rival slates. Maharaj's slate termed itself 'Team Unity'. Panday was not challenged as Political Leader but Maharaj's slate won 21 of the 24 other executive posts. Maharaj himself was elected as the new Deputy Leader.

This did not translate into increased prestige for Maharaj in the government as Panday refused to recommend Maharaj as Acting Prime Minister in his absence. Maharaj countered by initiating investigations into charges of corruption by Panday and his supporters. Panday then reduced the ministerial portfolios of Maharaj and his supporters. This led to the defection of Maharaj; Agriculture Minister, Trevor Sudama and Information Technology Minister, Ralph Maraj who formed the new party Team Unity. This led to the calling of early elections in 2001 in which the UNC were reduced to 18 seats in the House of Representatives. The opposition People's National Movement, which also won 18 seats, was called upon to form the government.