Tobias Clement addressing an NNP rally on Sunday. Screenshot: NNP/YouTube
by Nisha Paul
- Clement resigned from NNP in late 2019 but retained his seat in Parliament
- Involvement comes as a campaign supporter rather than a candidate
- Grenada’s General Election date is 5 November
Former Opposition Leader Tobias Clement has agreed to help the New National Party (NNP) campaign in selected constituencies ahead of Grenada’s 5 November General Election, nearly 7 years after resigning from the party over concerns about its direction.
Speaking in an interview following Sunday’s “NNP Better for Everybody” rally in St George’s on Sunday, Clement said he had become uncomfortable with the party’s trajectory and the people joining its ranks when he left in late 2019. He said he believed the NNP had moved away from its founding principles, but suggested changes within the organisation made it possible for him to support it again. “Doc has always told me to come home, but I said to him, clean the house. Now that the house is clean, you know, one will feel comfortable,” Clement said, referring to former NNP Political Leader Dr Keith Mitchell.
Clement said the newly elected Political Leader Emmalin Pierre, who is campaigning to become Grenada’s first-ever female prime minister, approached him several weeks ago for help campaigning in selected constituencies, and he agreed. “The political leader of the New National Party engaged me a few weeks ago, and I told her that I would come and do some help in a few of the constituencies,” Clement revealed. He identified St George’s North-East, which he represented for 2 parliamentary terms, along with Carriacou, Petite Martinique and other areas where he intends to lend support.
Clement won St George’s North-East as an NNP candidate in the 2013 and 2018 General Elections. He resigned from the party in late 2019 but retained his seat in Parliament. He became Leader of the Opposition in April 2020. In August 2021, he announced that his political support would align with the National Democratic Congress (NDC), while clarifying that he was not formally a member of that party.
Despite his return to the NNP platform, Clement said he has not formally rejoined the party as a card-bearing member but remains free to reapply for membership. His involvement therefore comes as a campaign supporter rather than a candidate, with the NNP seeking to regain office on 5 November.
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