When is the election? With 2008 as the year of election, it's the question that everyone is asking - and best indications are that only the Prime Minister's close circle of advisors know for sure. But best information to us is that tonight, they do have a clear date in mind. What is it? Well, we don't know for sure but the best information we've heard from reliable sources suggests that the date will be early February - possibly the first week in February. Our sources say it could be Wednesday February 6.
That would be Ash Wednesday and one telling indicator is that all the elections called by this Prime Minister have been on Ash Wednesdays. There was March 5th 2003, when both general and municipal were held in one day and the 2006 municipals which were held on March first 2003, also Ash Wednesday. So, if Ash Wednesday February 6th is the date, it would have to be declared roughly 27 days before that - which brings us to Thursday of next week. Our sources say the Prime Minister will announce it next Monday, 30 days ahead. Again, this is information culled from multiple sources, and not confirmed, but we believe it to be credible.
What we do know is that the PUP's political machine has stepped into high gear. The National Campaign Committee met this morning at Independence Hall; Cabinet is expected to have a special Thursday meeting tomorrow, and reliable sources say government has finally received a US$10 million grant from Venezuela. That was announced in June of last year, and Home Affairs and Housing Minister Ralph Fonseca has spearheaded a tenacious negotiation over the intervening months to get the money in time for the election. Those are the developments tonight and we'll keep you posted as the week continues.
