Long-simmering internal friction within the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) San Fernando East constituency branch boiled over this week, when the entire sitting executive submitted their resignations effective 4 p.m. local time Thursday. The coordinated departure came on the heels of a Sunday negotiation meeting between top PNM national leadership and more than 20 constituency executive members, convened to address long-running internal disputes and review findings from an independent inquiry commissioned by the PNM General Council.
In an official statement released on behalf of the body, outgoing constituency chair Patricia Alexis confirmed that local MP Brian Manning, the son of former PNM prime minister Patrick Manning, had been extended an invitation to the Sunday talks but declined to attend and took no part in the deliberations that led to the resignation decision. The outgoing executive framed its collective step as a measure taken to prioritize the long-term health of the PNM and enable stable, ordered governance of the constituency. By stepping down, the group explained, the national party leadership and PNM National Executive will be able to install a transitional interim body, oversee preparations for internal party elections, and clear a path for a fully democratic selection of a new constituency executive.
All outgoing members have pledged full cooperation with the leadership transition and a party verification process stemming from the inquiry’s recommendations, including turning over all requested documentation and constituency records. Alexis herself has confirmed she will not stand for re-election to the chair position when a new vote is held.
The resignation follows closely on a public announcement from former PNM government minister Hazel Manning — widow of Patrick Manning and mother of current MP Brian Manning — who entered the race for the constituency chair last Saturday. Hazel Manning stated that she had been contacted by dozens of constituents alarmed by growing turmoil and questions over the conduct of sitting constituency leaders, and that she had agreed to run to restore unity and stability to the district. She described San Fernando East as a historically symbolic seat for the PNM, tied to decades of service from her family: her husband represented the constituency from 1971 until 2015, and Brian claimed the seat for the PNM in the 2020 general election. “For decades I watched my husband, and now my son Brian Manning, walk every street, take note of every issue and make sacrifices to try to reach and represent every constituent,” she said in her announcement, calling on local members to unite to “repair, recover and rebuild” the constituency branch.
PNM national chair Marvin Gonzales told reporters Thursday that the mass resignation did not catch party leadership by surprise, following the difficult Sunday discussions with the outgoing executive. Gonzales revealed that many departing executive members had reported receiving unsolicited calls and direct threats pressuring them to step down, and that family members had urged them to exit the role rather than continue working in a deeply hostile political climate. “I tried to use my persuasion as the chairman of the party to encourage them not to bow to hostilities, external hostilities, threats, intimidation, and that they have done well to keep…the San Fernando East corner of the PNM for all of the years that we have been having elections in Trinidad and Tobago,” Gonzales said, adding that the national leadership had thanked the entire outgoing group for their years of service. He acknowledged that the ongoing internal conflict had taken a significant emotional and professional toll on the executive members, saying, “I felt their pain and I felt their disappointment” after Sunday’s meeting.
The current dispute erupted after MP Brian Manning publicly aired formal concerns about the performance and conduct of Alexis and the existing constituency executive. Gonzales had previously issued a public warning to party members against airing internal disagreements in public, noting that leadership was working to address Brian Manning’s complaints privately. Despite that directive, the constituency executive released its own public response, and ultimately moved forward with the mass resignation.
In their formal statement, the outgoing executive stressed that their decision to step down should not be misinterpreted as a break from the PNM or abandonment of the San Fernando East constituency. Members noted that they had served the party and local constituents through multiple successive parliamentary representatives, and remain proud of their record defending the seat for the PNM through every recent general election. “This resignation should therefore not be interpreted as an abandonment of either the party or the constituency,” the statement read. “It is a deliberate decision to facilitate the orderly reconstitution of the constituency and, ultimately, to allow the membership to determine its leadership through the democratic processes of the party.” The group also reaffirmed its unwavering support for PNM political leader Pennelope Beckles and the current national party leadership.
While Alexis confirmed she would not run again, she noted that other individual outgoing executive members will be free to choose whether to stand for election to the new executive. The ball is now in the court of PNM national leadership to put interim governing arrangements in place ahead of the scheduled constituency executive elections to select a permanent new body.