FORMER opposition senator Jayanti Lutchmedial-Ramdial is being tipped by UNC sources to sit as the President of the Senate when the new parliamentary term opens.
The positions of prime minister, opposition leader and president are all currently held by women.
Asked whether she has been approached by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to lead the Senate, Lutchmedial-Ramdial told the Newsday on May 6, 'Those matters are all within the purview of the Honourable Prime Minister who will make her decisions on those matters known at the appropriate time.'
Lutchmedial-Ramdial, an attorney who served in the Senate from 2020- 2025, said there has been no discussion to date.
However, she added, 'I remain willing to serve as the PM sees fit.'
Lutchmedial-Ramdial screened for both the San Fernando West seat, in which she resides, and Naparima, but was unsuccessful in both.
Responding to critics at the time, who said she was 'bitter' over her non-selection, she took to Facebook to clarify, 'I fight for country - not seat.'
She added, 'My priority in politics will always be to see a better and brighter TT. While I am confident my time at the crease will come in some form or fashion, the one thing I will not do, is pick up my bat and go home over a decision not being in my favour. The team is bigger than any individual and no one is bigger than the game.'
It is a position she has maintained, appearing in support of many candidates on platforms during the election campaign and on their walkabout in various constituencies, including San Fernando East and West and Naparima.
Veteran politician Wade Mark is being looked at to fill the post of Speaker of the House. Mark who first entered the Senate while in opposition in 1990, is one of the longest-serving members in the Upper House having served in the fourth, fifth, sixth, eight, ninth and 11th Parliaments, up until 2010.
Speaker of the House is a position Mark is familiar with, having served as Speaker in the 10th Parliament, in 2010 until 2015. Coming from the trade union movement, more specifically Bankers and General Workers Trade Union, Mark served as minister of public administration and information in the 5th Parliament and also as Vice-President of the Senate in the 6th Republican Parliament.
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