Tobagonians go to the polls

TOBAGONIANS will today go to the polls and cast their ballots, from as early as 6 am, in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Election. Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) officials yesterday reported that all “systems are go.” Approximately 38,076 persons are eligible to vote in today’s election. Of this number, some 532 special voters cast their ballots last week. Yesterday was the final day for special voting. In a pre-election address by the Chairman of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) Oswald Wilson, he stated that the Commission had been working over the past two months to ensure all systems were in place for the smooth running of the election.

“In August, changes were made to the boundaries of some of the electoral districts in Tobago as part of the Commission’s compliance with its legislative mandate in respect of the distribution of the electorate. The amendments were approved by Parliament and have received the acceptance of all parties concerned,” Wilson stated. He added that the THA election was no less intricate that what is required for General Elections and the same procedures applied as outlined in the Representations of the People Act. Over the last month, the sister isle has been a beehive of political activity with the PNM, DAC, NAR and Independent candidates seeking to convince the electorate to support them. The PNM and DAC concluded their election campaigns yesterday with motorcades in different parts of Tobago.

Voting begins at 6 am and runs until 6 pm. There are 12 seats up for grabs in today’s elections and the EBC said these seats have been divided into four groups of three. Each group will be presided over by one returning officer and his/her associated staff. The groups are as follows: Lambeau/Signal Hill, Scarbor-ough/Calder Hall and Bacolet/St Mt George; Canaan/Bon Accord, Buccoo/Mt Pleasant and Bethel/Mt Irvine; Parlatu-vier/L’Anse Forumi/Speyside, Belle Garden/Goodwood and Roxborough/Delaford and Black Rock/Whim/Spring Garden), Ply-mouth/Golden Lane and Provi-dence/Mason Hall/Moriah.

There are a total of approximately 89 polling stations spread throughout the island. EBC officials told Newsday all the necessary systems are in place and it expects today’s election process to run smoothly. The PNM and DAC are fielding candidates in all 12 seats. The NAR and the three Independents are contesting two and three seats respectively. The last THA elections were held on January 29, 2001 and the PNM won those polls by a margin of eight to four seats over the NAR.