Tobago wants more Parliament seats

THE TOBAGO House of Assembly (THA) is now officially calling for an increase in the parliamentary seats in Tobago to reflect the desired level of representation the island must now enjoy in keeping with the Election and Boundaries Commission’s (EBC) recommendation that the seats in Trinidad be increased to 39. A motion to that effect is listed on the Order Paper for debate at tomorrow’s plenary sitting of the THA.

The EBC has recommended that the number of constituencies throughout Trinidad and Tobago be increased from 36 to 41, with Tobago’s two seats remaining unchanged. However, the THA does not agree with this move, noting that Tobago having two seats in a 41-member Parliament does not truly reflect the level and ratio of representation the island should enjoy in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. Shortly after publication of the EBC Report, THA Chief Secretary Orville London sharply criticised the move, saying such a situation could not have been what the TT Constitution  contemplated.
The motion filed under Executive Council Business, reads: “Whereas the EBC, in its 2004 Report on the Review of the Constituency Boundaries, pursuant to Section 72 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, recommended that ‘Trinidad should be divided into 39 Constituencies,’ an increase of five constituencies over the previous allocations; “And whereas the EBC further recommended that ‘Tobago should remain unchanged at two constituencies’; And whereas the recommended allocations would not reflect the level and ratio of representation that the island of Tobago should be afforded in the National Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago; Be it resolved that this Assembly mandate the Executive Council to take all necessary steps to ensure that, in the enlarged Lower House recommended by the EBC, there should also be an increase in the allocation of seats to Tobago.”