The main opposition United National Congress (UNC) has denied any involvement in any plot to assassinate Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley or members of his administration.

The opposition described the allegations as “a last-ditch, desperate attempt to fool the electorate” ahead of the upcoming general election in 2020.

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad Bissessar, in a statement, said that the allegations were akin to those made in the so-called e-mail gate scandal, when in 2013. In that scandal Rowley, who was opposition leader, told legislators that he had received in December the previous year, a total of 31 emails, from a “whistleblower” indicating how operatives within the government had sought to undermine those institutions including the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and the media.

He said he had passed them on to the Office of the President. The police earlier this year ended their probe into “emailgate” without laying charges against anyone.

In her statement, Persad Bissessar said that Prime Minister Rowley is aware that he cannot win the next general election “fair and square” and “from the producers of Emailgate comes a last-ditch, desperate attempt to fool the electorate in 2020 with a sequel”.