A high-stakes political standoff unfolded in Siparia on Wednesday, when a faction of United National Congress (UNC) party members staged an organized public demonstration to push long-serving alderman Victor Roberts out of his post at the Siparia Borough Corporation (SBC). The demonstrators carried hand-painted placards emblazoned with calls for Roberts’ departure and chanted unified slogans demanding he step down, marching a pre-planned route from Irwin Park past the Siparia Police Station along SS Erin Road before arriving at the SBC compound, ahead of the body’s scheduled statutory monthly meeting. Once at the building, protest organizer and senior UNC member Naresh Maharaj formally submitted a signed petition calling for Roberts’ resignation to Siparia Mayor Doodnath Mayrhoo. Maharaj laid out the core of the UNC’s grievance: Roberts was appointed to his alderman position by former Prime Minister and UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar as a representative of the party, making his recent defection to the opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) a violation of the public trust that came with the role. “You cannot take your chair, a UNC chair, and put it by the PNM and say, I support the PNM … If you decide to take up your things and go, you need to resign,” Maharaj stated in his remarks to the mayor. He further noted that current law prevents Persad-Bissessar from removing Roberts from the post, meaning Roberts legally remains a UNC-appointed alderman even after switching party affiliation. The UNC is demanding that the seat be filled by a party loyalist who will uphold the platform that got him appointed, Maharaj added, confirming the petition would next be sent to Persad-Bissessar for further action. Roberts, who was already present in the SBC building when the protest began, did not back down in the face of the demonstration, and instead doubled down on his refusal to resign in comments to reporters following the protest. He reiterated that he would remain in his role to serve the public, acting as a check on the corporation’s decision-making until the end of his term or until the government calls new municipal elections. The path that led to this public clash began last year, when Roberts stepped down from his official UNC membership, and just two weeks ago he confirmed his open defection to PNM, after he was spotted attending the party’s annual Sports and Family Day. At the time, he told local media he had applied for and received PNM membership earlier in 2024. Even after the switch, he has retained his alderman post, prompting SBC UNC members to not only call for his resignation but also push for amendments to the Municipal Corporations Act to close the loophole that allows defectors to keep their appointed seats. Mayor Mayrhoo, a member of the UNC, has publicly aligned with the protestors, dismissing Roberts as a “frog hopper politician” for his history of switching political allegiances: he previously left the PNM to run as an independent, later joined the UNC, and has now returned to his original party. Mayrhoo also claimed Roberts is planning to run as the PNM candidate for the Erin district in upcoming local government elections, a prediction he says will end in defeat for Roberts. For his part, Roberts has pushed back against the protest and the UNC’s demands, raising multiple pointed questions about the demonstration’s legality amid the ongoing national State of Emergency. He called on the Commissioner of Police to launch a formal investigation into whether the protest, held on government property, received the required official approval, and also called for Mayrhoo to resign over the incident, questioning the mayor’s competence as a leader. The alderman also questioned why he is facing such fierce backlash when other UNC defectors to the PNM have not faced similar public calls for resignation. He raised the controversial question of whether the targeted campaign against him is rooted in racial prejudice, asking reporters: “Is it because I am a proud black man? That is my question … I have also seen the councillor for Siparia West/Fyzabad, Jason Ali, left the UNC and went over to the PNM, I haven’t seen this type of behaviour.” Roberts rejected claims that he has violated political integrity by refusing to resign, arguing he has remained in the post to prioritize public interest over party loyalty, and has pushed back against harmful council decisions that would harm local residents. “I am here to do what I am supposed to do on behalf of the people and that is what I am going to do. That is my role,” he said. Responding to Mayrhoo’s claim that he will contest the upcoming local election for PNM, Roberts said he had no idea where the mayor got that information, and confirmed the PNM has not approached him about running. “I don’t know what the political future holds for me, probably it holds nothing, I don’t know, but that would not stop me from being an advocate for the poor, the oppressed and the downtrodden,” he added.