While early morning rains poured on yesterday’s Tobago House of Assembly elections, few problems were reported up to afternoon by participating political parties.
Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) officials said rains which occurred during the morning didn’t affect a steady flow of voters. Rains halted later in the day, they noted, and while the flow of voters was steady, extremely long lines were not seen during the first half of the exercise, which began at 6 am and ended at 6 pm.
People’s National Movement Tobago Council chairman Stanford Callendar said the party hadn’t experienced any problems, save that there was intermittent rain in some areas.
“But it hasn’t really affected us. Our voters usually come out early, or try to make it by 6 pm if they can’t do so in the morning. Tobago isn’t a place that traditionally has very long lines though,” Calendar told the T&T Guardian.
Other PNM campaign leaders said their survey of the voting up to noon showed the PNM ahead in all 12 seats. But they could not say if this would continue into conclusion of the polls. They, however, confirmed the turnout up to noon indicated there might not be the record high turnout that occurred in 2013, when the PNM swept all 12 THA seats. That was 60 per cent.
Tobago Forwards leader Christlyn Moore said her party’s Bon Accord candidate reported that the gate had been shut at one Bon Accord polling station when vehicles registered to be on the compound had attempted to enter that compound when it was raining.
“It became pressing due to the rain, since the registered vehicles should have been able to enter the compound,” she said.
“But our party was told that security guards were instructed to keep the gate shut, even to those vehicles which were registered to enter the compound. That’s neither practical nor right.”
Watson Duke didn’t reply regarding his Progressive Democratic Party’s activity yesterday.
Of yesterday’s exercise, former public service head Reginald Dumas, who lives in Tobago, said, “I expect the PNM to win, but I’d like to hope one of the other parties will have some voice and pick up a couple of seats so you can have an Opposition in the THA.”
He added, “The 12-nil situation which we had for the past four years isn’t healthy politically and democratically for Tobago, and also for the entire unitary state. So I hope there’ll be an Opposition - however small - for the next few years.”