Political Leader of the small People’s Labour Party (PLP), Thomas “Mr. T” Griffith has decided to throw his support for the upcoming general election behind attorney-at-law Dickon Mitchell and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) which is trying to unseat the incumbent New National Party (NNP) administration.
Griffith called THE NEW TODAY Tuesday morning to announce that he would no longer be fielding candidates for the June 23 election but has approached Congress to appear on the party’s platform at the Tempe playing field on Sunday to endorse the main opposition party.
He said that he will join forces with businessman Andy Williams to try and help NDC win the South St George’s constituency on Polling Day.
According to Griffith, a member of the Brotherhood of Cross and Star religious sect, he has decided to take this course of action in order to avoid the splitting of votes among the opposition ranks which can benefit the ruling party.
“I am going to endorse the NDC,” he said, adding that the PLP does not have sufficient time between now and Election Day to mount a serious challenge against Prime Minister Mitchell and his team of candidates.
Griffith accused the Parliamentary Electoral Office (PEO) of giving him late approval of his symbol which is the Book in order to put systems in place in time for Nomination Day on June 1 and the actual holding of the election three weeks later.
“If you cannot beat them you have to team up to defeat the Oppressor – that is the only way we could defeat that Oppressor.
“I have my party, I am only going to endorse them but am still a member of the PLP – I will be wearing my white PLP T-shirt.
I am only going to endorse them for this time. I am not joining the NDC party. All my supporters, I will ask them to support the NDC since I will be on the Ballot Paper but I will vote for the NDC too. That will be the better move.”
According to Griffith, the message he intends to send out to Grenadians for the upcoming election is that “everybody deserves a second chance.”
“So I think we should give NDC a second chance and if they screw up then you have an alternative and to come to the PLP,” he said.
Congress was booted out of office in the 2013 election following a protracted period of internal feuding in government as a faction led by then Minister of Tourism, Peter David challenged then Prime Minister Tillman Thomas.
David who is now a card-bearing member of NNP was expelled from NDC in 2012 along with several of his followers including ex-government ministers, Joseph Gilbert, Glynis Roberts and Michael Church, as well as trade unionist Chester Humphrey and Pastor Stanford Simon of the Baptist church in Springs, St. George.
Since then Congress has suffered 15-0 defeats at the polls in both the 2013 and 2018 general election.
The party is now led by Dickon Mitchell and has managed to attract several new faces to contest the upcoming poll including businessman Andy Williams (South St George), former senior employee in the Ministry of Finance Dennis Cornwall (St Patrick East), Educator Dr. Tessa St Cyr (St Andrew North-east and former Chief Education Officer, David Andrew (St Andrew South-east).
Asked why he was supporting NDC and not NNP, Griffith said: “Never. NNP is too corrupt. My thing is about truth, trust and transparency. They called me and offered me money and I told them all the money that NNP has, I don’t want it, I am not for sale – you have to stand up for something or else you will fall for anything. I am not going with them. They could give me a million dollars. I ain’t going with them.”
The religious figure is confident that Prime Minister Mitchell, who has been the longest serving leader in the country, will be defeated in the June 23 poll by Congress.
He said: “This time is God’s time. The theme of the election is good over evil and evil cannot prevail over good. Good must conquer evil.”
Griffith is confident that the PLP will be ready to contest any upcoming by-election in Grenada after next month’s poll.