Election to the House of Representatives in Trinidad and Tobago 2020
The election for the House of Representatives in Trinidad and Tobago 2020 ("general election") took place on August 10, 2020. It was the 14th election since Britain gained independence in 1962 and the 22nd national election in Trinidad and Tobago ever. The winner of the election was the People's National Movement (PNM) party, which had been in government since 2015.
Electoral system
Trinidad and Tobago has a two-chamber system modeled on the former colonial power Great Britain . While the 31 members of the House of Lords, the Senate, are appointed by the President, the 41 members of the House of Representatives are elected every five years by free and general election. Each member represents a constituency that it must win. The principle of majority voting applies : the votes of the candidates who are defeated in one constituency are forfeited. This electoral system is common in many former British colonies as well as in Great Britain itself and usually results in the formation of a system with two or three nationally dominant parties. In Trinidad these are the People's National Movement (PNM) and United National Congress (UNC) parties; the numerous smaller parties are irrelevant. All parties can freely determine which candidate stands in which constituency. The president of the party that wins the most constituencies is tasked with forming a government.
The election date is actually set by President Paula Mae Weekes . Election day is always a Monday. The earliest possible regular date was September 24th, but the President has a time window of 90 days within which she can freely fix the election, so that the latest date was December 23rd. In the 2020 election, the ruling PNM reached an earlier election date by having President Weekes dissolve parliament on July 3 under the constitution permitting it. Prime Minister Rowley set the election date for August 10, which meant an election campaign of just 38 days.
The election is preceded by a nine-day registration phase in which voters can register for the election. Citizens of the country aged 18 and over who have lived in the country for at least two months on the day after the registration phase ( qualifying date ), as well as citizens of a country in the Commonwealth of Nations aged 18 and over who have lived in the country for at least one year on the day after the registration phase are eligible to vote have lived. In 2020 there were 1,143,136 Trinidadians eligible to vote. There is no option for citizens living abroad to vote, so Trinidadians who were stuck abroad because of the rampant Covid-19 pandemic could not vote. At the time of the election, Trinidad did not allow entry, not even for its own citizens.
initial situation
As a result of the election to the House of Representatives on September 7, 2015 , the government was formed by the PNM. In the House of Representatives the PNM had 23 seats, the UNC 17. One seat fell on the COP , which had won the constituency of St. Augustine . Prime Minister was Keith Rowley of the PNM, opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar of the UNC, who was Prime Minister from 2010 to 2015. Both Rowley and Persad-Bissessar ran again as the top candidates of their respective parties.
Parties and candidates
The following 19 parties ran for election on August 10, 2020:
| Political party | Abbreviation | Constituencies | Chairman | Voices 2015 | Seats from 41 (2015-2020) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's National Movement | PNM | 41 | Keith Rowley | 51.7% | 23 |
| United National Congress | UNC | 39 | Kamla Persad-Bissessar | 39.6% | 17th |
| Congress of the People | COP | 4th | Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan | 6.0% | 1 |
| Democratic Party of Trinidad and Tobago | DPTT | 1 | Steve Alvarez | - | - |
| Independent Liberal Party | ILP | 1 | Jack Warner | - | - |
| Movement for National Development | MND | 3 | Garvin Nicholas | - | - |
| Movement for Social Justice | MSJ | 5 | David Abdulah | - | - |
| National Coalition for Transformation | NCT | 2 | Nalini Dial | - | - |
| Nationwide Organization of We the People | NOW | 1 | Kirk Waithe | - | - |
| New National Vision | NNV | 6th | Fuad Abu Bakr | - | - |
| One Tobago Voice | OTV | 1 | Juliana Henry-King | - | - |
| Progressive Democratic Party | PDP | 2 | Watson Duke | - | - |
| Progressive Empowerment Party | PEP | 28 | Phillip Alexander | - | - |
| Progressive party | PP | 1 | Nikoli Edwards | - | - |
| The National Party | TNP | 1 | Valmiki Ramsingh | - | - |
| Trinidad and Tobago Democratic Front | TTDF | 1 | Nicholas Williams | - | - |
| Trinidad Humanity Campaign | THC | 7th | Marcus Ramkissoon | - | - |
| Unity of the People | UTP | 1 | Nickocy Phillips | - | - |
| Unrepresented People's Party | UPP | 1 | Kenneth Munroe-Brown | - | - |
“Electoral Districts” means the number of electoral districts in which the respective party runs. The three parties COP, DPTT and TTDF join forces as the “Better United Coalition”. In addition to the 19 parties, four individuals ran as independent candidates for one constituency each.
Positions
There are no significant differences in the programs of the two major parties, UNC and PNM. Traditionally, the UNC is more of an Indo-Trinidadian party, while Afro-Trinidadian make up the majority of the PNM's base. Racial differences play a subordinate role in Trinidad, however, the dominant subject areas in the media are the stagnating economy and the high rate of violent crime; here both parties claim that they are better suited to combat them. In the closing stages of the campaign, Prime Minister Rowley accused the UNC of using racist motives in its advertising campaign.
Some parties only represent regional positions. This applies in particular to the parties PDP and OVT, who are running exclusively in Tobago and advocate regional autonomy, and the MND, which advocates the interests of the Diego Martin region .
The announcement by the opposition UNC that, in the event of an election victory, would build a “dome” over Trinidad to protect against illegal immigrants, made things more relaxed. Before the UNC made it clear that it meant a radar screen, users of social media took up the topic and indulged in humorous allusions to domes in films and TV series.
procedure
The state Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) was responsible for organizing the election. There were no international election observers .
Opinion research in the run-up to the election was carried out by the North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) and the management consultancy HHB Associates, among others. A NACTA poll shortly after the election date was announced found that, as in most previous elections, only PNM and UNC would play a role. An HHB poll published July 25 in the Trinidad Guardian found the ruling PNM at 53% and the UNC at 44%. A NACTA poll from July 25, however, saw the UNC with one percentage point ahead. At this point in time, the tendency, known from previous elections, was that Trinidadians with African roots tend to vote for the PNM and Trinidadians with Indian roots for the UNC.
The resignation of former deputy PNM chairwoman Nafeesa Mohammed on July 28, who accused the PNM leadership of arrogance, ignorance and incompetence, caused a media stir. The opposition leader and former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar received death threats during the election campaign. The chairman of the PEP, Phillip Alexander, called for the elections to be postponed in view of the Covid 19 pandemic, which is also rampant in Trinidad, but was not heard. A UNC supporter was stabbed on the sidelines of a UNC election campaign on the Saturday before the election.
The polling stations closed at 6:00 p.m. on election Monday. At 10:30 pm, Prime Minister Keith Rowley declared his party the winner of the election.
Election result
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658,297 citizens cast their votes, which corresponds to a voter rate of 58%. According to the preliminary final result, the PNM won 322,250 votes, the UNC 309,188, so the difference between the two major parties is around 13,000 votes. For the election, however, the performance in the individual constituencies was decisive. The UNC won one constituency, Moruga / Tableland in southern Trinidad, from the PNM. She also won the St. Augustine constituency in the North Trinidadian East-West Corridor from the COP. In total, however, it was just enough for the PNM to win the election, as they won in 22 of the 41 constituencies. The following candidates prevailed in the 41 constituencies:
| Constituency | region | winner | Political party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arima | Arima | Pennelope Beckles | PNM |
| Arouca / Maloney | Tunapuna-Piarco | Camille Robinson-Regis | PNM |
| Barataria / San Juan | San Juan Laventille | Saddam Hosein | UNC |
| Caroni Central | Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo | Arnold Ram | UNC |
| Caroni East | Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo | Rishi Seecharan | UNC |
| Chaguanas East | Chaguanas | Vandana Mohit | UNC |
| Chaguanas West | Chaguanas | Dinesh Rambally | UNC |
| Couva North | Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo | Ravi Ratiram | UNC |
| Couva South | Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo | Rudranath Indarsingh | UNC |
| Cumuto / Manzanilla | Sangre Grande | Rai Ragbir | UNC |
| D'Abadie / O'Meara | Tunapuna-Piarco | Lisa Morris-Julian | PNM |
| Diego Martin Central | Diego Martin | Symon De Nobrega | PNM |
| Diego Martin North / East | Diego Martin | Colm Imbert | PNM |
| Diego Martin West | Diego Martin | Keith Rowley | PNM |
| Fyzabad | Siparia | Lackram Bodoe | UNC |
| La Brea | Siparia | Stephen McClashie | PNM |
| La Horquetta / Talparo | Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo | Foster Cummings | PNM |
| Laventille East / Morvant | San Juan Laventille | Adrian Leonce | PNM |
| Laventille West | San Juan Laventille | Fitzgerald Hinds | PNM |
| Lopinot / Bon Air West | Tunapuna-Piarco | Marvin Gonzales | PNM |
| Mayaro | Mayaro-Rio Claro | Rushton Paray | UNC |
| Moruga / Tableland | Princes Town | Michelle Benjamin | UNC |
| Naparima | Penal Debe | Rodney Charles | UNC |
| Oropouche East | Siparia | Roodal Moonilal | UNC |
| Oropouche West | Siparia | Davendranath Tancoo | UNC |
| Point Fortin | Point Fortin | Kennedy Richards Jr. | PNM |
| Pointe-a-Pierre | Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo | David Lee | UNC |
| Port of Spain North / St. Ann's West | Port of Spain | Stuart Young | PNM |
| Port of Spain South | Port of Spain | Keith Scotland | PNM |
| Princes Town | Princes Town | Barry Padarath | UNC |
| San Fernando East | San Fernando | Brian Manning | PNM |
| San Fernando West | San Fernando | Faris Al-Rawi | PNM |
| Siparia | Siparia | Kamla Persad-Bissessar | UNC |
| St. Ann's East | San Juan Laventille | Nyan Gadsby Dolly | PNM |
| St. Augustine | Tunapuna-Piarco | Khadijah Ameen | UNC |
| St. Joseph | San Juan Laventille | Terrence Deyalsingh | PNM |
| Tabaquite | Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo | Anita Haynes | UNC |
| Tobago East | Eastern Tobago | Ayanna Webster-Roy | PNM |
| Tobago West | Western Tobago | Shamfa Cudjoe | PNM |
| Toco / Sangre Grande | Sangre Grande | Roger Munroe | PNM |
| Tunapuna | Tunapuna-Piarco | Esmond Forde | PNM |
consequences
The announcement of an official final result by the EBC was delayed because recounts were initiated in the five constituencies of La Horquetta / Talparo, San Fernando West, St. Joseph, Toco / Sangre Grande and Tunapuna at the instigation of the unsuccessful UNC. Rowley's swearing-in as prime minister was therefore postponed to August 14th. On August 18, the Elections and Boundaries Commission announced the results of the recounts. It remained that the PNM had won 22 constituencies and the UNC 19. The UNC expressed confidence in a first reaction of its chairman Kamla Persad-Bissessar, against the calls for resignation had been loud. Jack Warner , who could not win his constituency for the ILP, announced his withdrawal from politics.
The new government was sworn in on August 19th. It has 22 ministers, including 17 from the previous government and two ministers from previous PNM governments. New to the government are Labor Secretary Stephen McClashie, Minister of Public Services Marvin Gonzales, and Secretary of State Symon de Nobriga. In addition, the government has eight ministers without portfolio.
Individual evidence
- ^ Ria Taitt: Parliament to clear way for elections . In: Trinidad Express . May 7, 2020.
- ↑ TTParliament.org: Legal Notice No. 259. Retrieved July 18, 2020 . (PDF, 31 KB)
- ↑ Kalifa Sarah Clyne: August 10 is Trinidad and Tobago election day . In: Trinidad Newsday . 3rd July 2020.
- ↑ TTConnect.gov.tt: Registering to Vote. Retrieved July 18, 2020 .
- ↑ Khamarie Rodriguez, Carolyn Kissoon: Last voter casts ballot: Count begins . In: Trinidad Express . August 10, 2020.
- ↑ LoopTT.com: Candidates confirmed to contest 2020 General Election. Retrieved July 18, 2020 .
- ↑ DW.com: Trinidad and Tobago election too close to call. Retrieved July 18, 2020 .
- ^ Gail Alexander: Rowley knocks Kamla for racist ad campaign . In: Trinidad Guardian . August 6, 2020.
- ↑ GlobalVoices.com: Ahead of elections in Trinidad & Tobago, one party promises to build a dome to limit 'illegal outsiders'. Retrieved July 18, 2020 .
- ↑ NACTA Poll shows no real threat from third parties in safe seats for the upcoming election . In: Trinidad Guardian . July 11, 2020.
- ↑ Shaliza Hassanali: PNM and UNC in tight election race . In: Trinidad Guardian . July 25, 2020.
- ↑ Clint Chan Tack: NACTA: Voter enthusiasm for election at record low . In: Trinidad Newsday . July 30, 2020.
- ↑ Sean Douglas: Nafeesa Mohammed quits PNM . In: Trinidad Newsday . 29th July 2020.
- ↑ Peter Christopher: Threat issued against Kamla . In: Trinidad Guardian . July 27, 2020.
- ↑ Rhondor Dowlat-Rostant: PEP leader wants election postponed . In: Trinidad Guardian . July 27, 2020.
- ↑ CNC3.co.tt: Ex-UNC councilor stabbed after rally. Retrieved July 18, 2020 .
- ↑ Ria Taitt: PNM gets more than 13,000 votes over UNC . In: Trinidad Express . August 13, 2020.
- ↑ Radhica de Silva: Election result on hold as EBC starts 6 recounts . In: Trinidad Guardian . August 12, 2020.
- ↑ Elections and Boundaries Commission: Official Results of the Recounts in six electoral districts in the 2020 Parliamentary Elections , accessed on August 18, 2020.
- ↑ Anna Ramdass: Kamla not stepping down . In: Trinidad Express . August 12, 2020.
- ↑ Janelle de Souza: Jack's last campaign; other small parties soldier on . In: Trinidad Newsday . August 11, 2020.
- ^ Ria Taitt: They Are Back . In: Trinidad Express . 20th August 2020.