Burke promises victory at polls, -re-elected NDC leader

ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, Oct 30, CMC – Nazim Burke was re-elected political leader of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Sunday predicting an election victory at the next general election and vigorously defended the decision of the party to expel “cancerous elements’ ahead of the 2013 general election.
Burke, a former member of the last NDC government, said that the expulsion of the 12 prominent members, elected legislators, Peter David, Joseph Gilbert and Glynnis Roberts was done with the understanding that the action could have affected its possibilities to regain power in the 2013 general election.
Burke told party supporters at a rally, the highlight of the party’s convention, that in 2012, the NDC was facing internal challenges from some people who had decided that they were prepared to destroy the party if they were unable to control it.
“The stark choice in our party, brothers and sisters back then was whether to go to the party seeking a mandate under false pretences that we were a united organisation or whether we should immediately rid ourselves of those cancerous elements in our party knowing full well that it will reduce our chances of winning the next election and it will weaken our organisation,” he said.
“Face with that choice sisters and brothers, we chose to expel, we elected to expel them from our party, we did so confident of the fact that even though we ran the risk of losing the election we knew that we were going to protect the NDC brand, we knew that we were going to protect the face of our party and that we will live to fight another day and to contest future elections,” he told the supporters.
He said “today as I stand before you I can say confidently that we feel vindicated by that decision, today our party is more united than it has ever been, today sisters and brothers our party is stronger than it has ever been, today our party is more focus than it has ever been”.
Burke, who was elected for another three year term, acknowledged the NDC, which lost all 15 seats in the last general election, had to undergo a rebuilding process.
“Four years ago they gave up on our party for dead, today sisters and brothers those who were preparing for our funeral are now playing with they own carcasses. Our engine is grease and all revved up to contest the upcoming elections, we are ready to contest and win the upcoming elections sisters and brothers,” he said.
Burke described the upcoming general election as one of the most important in the history of Grenada.
Burke, is seeking to regain the St George’s North East constituency he lost in 2013, and told supporters that the constitutional date for the general election is no later than May 2018.
He said the election will decide whether Grenada will continue go down the road of “hopelessness and fear or whether or not the people will decide to turn it around and bring hope to our young people”.
He told the rally that he was “truly humbled” to be re-elected as political leader, adding “I know that the people of the National Democratic Congress do not go about choosing leaders willy nilly and I am truly happy and humbled that you have taken the decision to have me continue to serve in that capacity”.
During the close door session of the convention, the delegates elected a new executive with one minor change.
“There was no block voting. Each position was individually and unanimously voted back into office. The only new face is a floor member,” said public relations officer Randall Robinson.
The convention was held under the theme “Let’s Build Grenada together”.