Commentary: Special voters started to exercise their franchise in Trinidad elections

Special voters have started to exercise their franchise for the crucial general elections in the oil-rich Trinidad and Tobago.

The special voters, a total of 16,900, which include electoral workers, police officers, firemen, defence force officers and other persons who will work on elections day, have up to Sunday to vote.

Meanwhile, the election campaign has intensified, with the three political parties — the governing People’s National Movement (PNM), United National Congress, and the Congress of the People (COP) — extending their campaigning nationwide.

On Tuesday night, former Minister Keith Rowley, who is on the PNM ticket, spoke for the first time on his party’s platform and he criticised his leader, Prime Minister Patrick Manning, and said, “I have serious issues with Mr Manning” in his (the PM’s) presence. It is no secret that Rowley and the Prime Minister are at loggerheads. Rowley said that the PNM is not a perfect party, and even went so far to state that the party can lose the elections.

Meanwhile, UNC leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who is working in collaboration with COP leader, Winston Deokaran, is confident of victory for what is now known as “The Peoples Partnership”. Reports from Port of Spain state that the UNC leader is preparing herself to be the first female prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago. She now has a new outlook and a different approach, as advised by President Obama’s strategists, who had meetings and discussions with her. She is no longer pushing the Indo-Trini line, but now adopts a more nationalistic approach.

The Peoples Partnership received endorsements from two religious groups last Tuesday — from the Central Ministries Fellowship and the Muslims of Trinidad and Tobago. Kamla Persad Bissessar announced on Tuesday that if she becomes the next prime minister she will take a 10% reduction of her salary to assist the needy and will ask her ministers to take a 5% cut in their salaries as well.

She urged her supporters to wear yellow as a symbol of “the light will rise as the nation moves toward liberation day on Monday.”

Meanwhile, Manning was severely criticized for misusing the media in his electioneering for whipping up votes in what he called a State of the Nation address on Monday night, in which he used television time to drum up his government’s programmes and achievements.

Critics say that State of the Nation address should deal with urgent national issues and not achievements, and argued that the Opposition should be given equal television time.

Manning called elections midway through his term. Opposition members say that he dissolved Parliament on the eve of a no confidence motion to prevent certain irregularities being raised in the House, and political pundits claim that the PNM leader might regret his move because it is anticipated that the Peoples Partnership will defeat the incumbent PNM.

However, supporters of Manning argued that the elections were called early while the opposition parties UNC and COP were at loggerheads, but they still contend that the so-called merger of the two forces cannot unseat the PNM.

Monday’s elections will be keenly contested, but it seems as if the incumbent will be defeated.

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Tags: COP, PNM, UNC

Category: Caribbean News, Caribbean Politics