Pollsters forecast a majority of seats and corporations for PNM

TODAY is Local Government Election  in Trinidad and a total of 855,919 people are eligible to vote.

Political pundits are placing their bets on the ruling PNM to take the majority of seats and corporations. The party now controls eight of the 14 municipal corporations. There are 126 seats up for grabs. Political analysts believe that the results of this election would be a major test for the leadership of the UNC, coming so soon after the general election defeat. The pollsters have said that the UNC will lose control of the Sangre Grande and Siparia Regional Corporations and the PNM will make inroads in the traditional UNC held Chaguanas Borough. They are predicting a tie in the Rio Claro/Mayaro Corporation. Voter turnout is also expected to be low, as is traditional in Local Government election, despite the national outlook of both parties’ campaigning over the past weeks.

The polls will open at 6 am and close at 6 pm. The electors list has decreased by 26,780 when compared to the 1999 election, when 882,699 persons were registered to vote. Of that amount in 1999 only 341,794 or 41.8 percent of electors cast their ballots. There are 126 seats to be contested this year, two more seats than in 1999. The two new seats are Wallerfield/La Horquetta in the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation and Freeport/Calcutta in the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corpora-tion. The five week campaign for today’s election has been described by some as fierce, while others totally disagreed saying it lacked the “fire” of an election. The election will be contested by the People’s National Movement (PNM), the United National Congress (UNC) and the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR). The UNC and the NAR are in an accommodation, with the UNC contesting 107 seats and the NAR 19. The PNM will contest all 126 seats. The UNC will contest seats in the seven corporations which it now controls,  and the NAR will field its candidates mainly in the Port-of-Spain, Diego Martin and San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporations.

Two independent candidates will also face the polls. They are Sultan Khan (Reform/Manahambre) and Edwin Granger (Mayaro). Khan was a former UNC member. Persons registered as special voters have already cast their ballots for today’s election. There were 10,508 persons registered as special voters. They began voting last Tuesday at various offices of Returning Officers, and on Wednesday at special voting booths established by the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC). Special voters ended their voting yesterday at 3 pm. There are concerns within the UNC about the integrity of the voting process. An irregularity occurred with the special voting in two areas in San Fernando- Marabella East and Marabella West. The UNC has already indicated that it would challenge the results via an election petition if it loses either of those seats. The election is usually held every three years, and was due to be held last year. However, because of the 18/18 deadlock in the 2001 General Election and a subsequent election last year, the legislation paving the way for the Local Government elections lapsed. Following debate of the Act to validate the fourth report of the Elections and Boundaries Commission in Parliament earlier  this year, Prime Minister Patrick Manning announced July 14 as the date for the election in a statement in the Senate on June 3.

The last election in 1999 saw the UNC, which then held the reigns of power, taking control of the Sangre Grande, Rio Claro/Mayaro, Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Penal/Debe and Princes Town Regional Corporations as well as the Chaguanas Borough Corporation. The PNM maintained its hold on the Port-of-Spain, San Fernando, Arima and Point Fortin Borough Corporations and the Diego Martin, San Juan/Laventille, Tunapuna/ Piarco Corporations. Both parties held equal amount of seats, four each, in the Siparia Regional Corporation, and after the pulling of straws, the corporation was subsequently declared to be UNC controlled, with the appointment of a UNC Chairman. The marginal seat in that Corporation is the Siparia East/San Francique South district, which in the 1999 election the UNC won by 95 votes. The San Fernando City Council, controlled by the PNM will also be monitored closely, especially the three marginal districts. They are the Cocoyea/Tarouba seat which was won by one vote; the Marabella South/Vistabella, which was won by 14 votes and the Marabella East district which was won by 25 votes in 1999. All three districts were won by the PNM. The Sangre Grande Corporation, which is expected to fall to the PNM also has two marginal districts. They are the Sangre Grande Northeast and Manzanilla districts, which the UNC won by 55 and 70 votes respectively. Results of today’s poll are expected to be released from about seven o’clock this evening.