House agrees to new THA boundaries

THE House of Representatives yesterday unanimously approved the new electoral boundaries for Tobago as proposed by the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) in a recent report. The changes have been announced before the upcoming Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections which are due to be held within three months of the dissolution of the Assembly in January 2005. Changes are made to ten out of the 12 electoral districts, by the EBC’s Eighth Report on the definition and review of the boundaries in the electoral area of Tobago. The report stated: “Of the 12 electoral districts in Tobago, adjustments should be made to the boundaries of all but two of them, namely Plymouth/Golden Lane and Belle Garden/Goodwood.”

The report also suggested that the names of seven electoral districts be changed.  Buccoo/Lambeau changes to Buccoo/Mount Pleasant; Bethel/ Patience Hill to Bethel/Mount Irvine; Scarborough/Signal Hill to Lambeau/Signal Hill; Black Rock/Whim to Black Rock/Whim/Spring Garden; Mason Hall/Providence/Calder Hall to Scarborough/Calder Hall; Moriah/Palatuvier to Providence/Mason Hall/Moriah; and L’Anse Fourmi/Speyside to Parlatuvier/L’Anse Fourmi/Speyside. To effect the recommendations of the report, the House yesterday approved “The Elections and Boundaries Commission (Local Government) (Tobago House of Assembly) Order 2004.”

Moving the order, Minister of Local Government, Rennie Dumas, answered Opposition concerns about a delay in the receipt of the report from the EBC. “Unfortunately the concept that you are raising as to when the order should have come vis-a-vis the election and dissolution dates — that was known to the EBC. Unfortunately we only now received it.” With the laying of the Report in the House, Dumas told Newsday: “We are smack on time.” He assured that even if this report had not been brought in time, the THA elections could have been held “without distress” using the old electoral rules. He concluded: “Now the way is clear for elections to be held.”