PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad – VOTERS in Trinidad and Tobago will head to the polls on May 24, two and a half years after the twin-island Republic last held a general election.
Prime Minister Patrick Manning announced the date on Friday (Apr. 16), nine days after he advised President George Richards to dissolve the country’s Parliament. Nomination Day has been set as May 3.
The move by Manning was in accordance with Trinidad and Tobago’s constitutional requirement that an election must be held a minimum of 35 days and a maximum of 90 days after Parliament’s dissolution.
Manning’s People’s National Movement (PNM) party faces stiff resistance from a coalition that includes lead opposition party the United National Congress (UNC), Congress of the People (COP), Movement for Social Justice, National Joint Action Committee and the Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP).
The UNC will contest 24 seats and the COP and other alliance members will field 15 candidates, while the TOP will contest the two Tobago seats.
The PNM won 26 of the 41 parliamentary seats to the UNC’s 15 in the 2007 election. Should the party win again, it would be Manning’s fourth term in office.
All parties have been screening candidates since the election was announced and intensified their political rhetoric and meetings in anticipation of the May 24 contest.
Voters around the island have rushed to offices of the Election and Boundaries Commission to ensure they are properly registered in time for polling day.
Manning, one of the Caribbean’s political veterans, has come under pressure lately from opposition accusations of corruption and fiscal mismanagement. Speculation is rampant that he initiated the early election to avoid a parliamentary vote of a no-confidence motion that was raised against him earlier this year.
The PM has yet to publicly confirm or deny the rumours, but Parliament Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has already called him a “coward” for skirting the issue.
In an interview with BBCCaribbean, the UNC head said the opposition was ready and called Manning “a worthy opponent” and the coalition “a worthy challenger”.
Trinidad and Tobago’s general election follows those of Dominica, Anguilla and St. Kitts-Nevis, all of which held polls within the last six months.
