PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — Opposition leader Kamla Persad Bissessar will seek re-election to the post of leader of the United National Congress (UNC) next month even though she still has at least one year to go before facing party supporters for a new mandate.

The UNC said that Persad Bissessar “has taken the decision to seek a fresh mandate from the party members as the party prepares for a General Election” that is not due until 2020.

The party said that it will hold internal elections on November 26 and that internal elections are held every two years for all members of the executive except the political leader, which is held every three years.

It said that 18 of the party’s 20 elected posts would be contested, including the position of political leader.

“The United National Congress remains committed to its democratic founding principles and we remain a people’s organisation. We will continue to pursue a people’s agenda with a commitment to social justice as a guiding principle to national development,” the party said.

Persad Bissessar was at the helm of the UNC when it lost the 2015 general election to the People’s National Movement (PNM).