A turn in events on Wednesday may see Grenada having an official opposition leader since 2013. Parliamentary representative for St. George’s North East, Tobias Clement on Wednesday resigned from the New National Party (N.N.P). Political leader of the N.N.P says the move was expected.
After months of speculation, Tobias Clement has resigned from the New National Party. The resignation was tendered and accepted by Chairman of the party, Gregory Bowen. This follows an October development where Clement, failed to show-up at a constituency meeting, to which he was invited.
When interviewed previously, Clement said this was as a result of misunderstandings between himself and the party as it relates to constituency-related matters.
Clement in speaking to journalists on Wednesday, following his crossing of the floor, confirmed the resignation, saying he will be looking to the constitution for guidance on the way forward.
Clement said he was elected by the people of St. George North East, to represent them and it will remain that way.
He said he does not believe the constitution speaks to the recalling of MP’s like that there are still three years to go, and will be considering being leader of the opposition.
He said “one might wonder, is having an opposition in a country, is it a bad thing, or having an opposition to government is it a bad thing? At least seven budget cycles have passed and probably I will have much more to speak on that in terms of where we are and where we are going.”
Political leader of the NNP and Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell, in response to the move, said he is not surprised and wished Clement well. The Prime Minister said he wishes Clement the best of luck. The PM said Clement is a good person and hopes he does well in any undertaking that he has.
The move by Clement is one the Prime Minister said was expected since Clement gave indications for some time. Dr. Mitchell said “ this will not affect the team since things were happening without Clements’ efforts”.
