Not so!Independent senators reject PM’s claims of them ‘selling’ their ZOSO votes for Govt favours

2026-01-29 - 03:04

Lead Editor-Politics akash.samaroo@cnc3.co.tt Independent senators are forcefully rejecting a bombshell allegation by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar that two members of their bench attempted to seek personal favours in exchange for supporting the Zones of Special Operations (ZOSO) Bill. And Senators Anthony Vieira and Francis Lewis are challenging the Prime Minister to release the names of those individuals if, in fact, her accusation is true. The legislation was defeated in the Senate on Tuesday night, after failing to secure the support of the Independent bench required for passage. When it came to a vote, the 15 Government Senators voted in favour, 14 voted against, inclusive of eight of the nine independent senators and six Opposition senators, and Independent Senator Courtney Mc Nish abstained. While the Prime Minister initially said she was not surprised by the outcome, she escalated her criticism yesterday, launching a fresh and scathing attack—this time making a serious allegation tantamount to bribery. In a post to X titled, “My Government will not buy votes,” Persad-Bissessar alleged, “During the debate, two of the President’s Senators approached a senior Government Senator seeking personal favours in exchange for support and for securing the remaining votes needed for passage. Those requests were rejected. From that moment, it was clear the bill would not pass. They know who they are. They must live with that shame.” Guardian Media asked the Prime Minister who those senators were, but she declined to reveal their identity. Attempts to obtain clarification from Leader of Government Business in the Senate, Senator Darrell Allahar, on the identity of the Independent Senators referenced by the Prime Minister were also unsuccessful. When pressed, Allahar declined to name anyone, responding: “Why don’t you ask each of them? GML loves to report their vapid comments in preference to others. They know who they are.” Guardian Media attempted to call each of the nine Independent Senators for their response to the Prime Minister’s allegation. When asked if she approached any Government member to ask for a favour in exchange for her support, Independent Senator Sophia Chote said, “First of all, I am not aware of what the Prime Minister said. And second of all, I certainly approached no one. No one approached me, to be fair. I don’t know what that is about.” Chote was asked for her opinion on what was the latest attack by the Prime Minister on the credibility of the independent senators. “Well, if such a thing had occurred, I would imagine that it would have been spoken about before. That is just my instinctive response. But I’ll tell you something, I don’t intend to be dragged into any sort of debate through the media about what the prime minister may or may not have said on social media. I have not seen