Caribbean L 12 ife, July 17-23, 2020
CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Modeste-Curwen said the taxes that
are charged on tickets in the region
will kill the desire to have more intraregional
Caribbean travel because the
cost of a ticket to a nearby island sometimes
is almost the same or more than
going to a place such as the United
States.
Trinidad
Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has
invited CARICOM and Commonwealth
Observers to Trinidad and Tobago for
the Aug. 10 General Election.
A release from the Office of the
Prime Minister said Dr. Rowley wrote to
CARICOM Secretary General, Irwin La
Rocque and Commonwealth Secretary
General, Patricia Scotland QC, inviting
them to send election observation missions
to observe the processes and operations
in the upcoming parliamentary
election, which will be held on Aug. 10.
Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-
Bissessar had written to the prime
minister, requesting that international
observer teams be invited to observe
the poll next month.
She had asked for
observers from the
United Nations, CARICOM,
Commonwealth
and The Carter Center
to be invited to T&T, noting that international
elections observation was an
“important mechanism for ensuring
election integrity.”
Five other political parties have
supported Persad-Bissessar’s call for
observers.
The prime minister responded by
saying that he had no problem with
having international observers in T&T
for the election.
— Compiled by Azad Ali
Continued from Page 4
Trinidadians will vote on Aug. 10
By Azad Ali
Voters in Trinidad and Tobago will
go to the polls on Aug. 10 for the
2020 General Election
Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley
made the announcement when Parliament
was prorogued last Friday
to make way from the 12th Trinidad
and Tobago Republican Parliament.
The writs for the 2020 general election
were issued by President Paula
Mae Weekes on July 1, 2020.
Nomination day is July 17.
There are 41 elected members of
the House of Representatives, who
are elected in single-member constituencies
using first-past-the-post
system.
In the 2015 general election, the
PNM won a majority government
with 22 of the 41 seats but with a
majority of the popular vote going
to the Opposition People’s (PP) coalition.
A total of 65 percent of voters
turned out for the 2015 general
election.
The PP which won 19 seats contested
the election under Kamla Persad
Bissessar, but this year she is
going alone in the election. She is
the political leader of the United
National Congress (UNC).
She dropped 10 incumbent MPs
from the UNC slate. Persad-Bissessar
successfully re-elected eight MPs.
The new UNC slate includes several
individuals drawn from the senate,
local government and the UNC party
executive, among them are a number
of young candidates including eight
women in the 39 candidates selected.
The PNM is contesting all 41 seats
— 39 in Trinidad and two in Tobago.
Some pollsters are saying the
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister,
Dr. Keith Rowley. Photo by Nelson
A. King
choice of candidates by the UNC
for their “safe” constituencies could
influence the outcome of the general
election
The UNC has selected candidates
in seven marginals and challengers
for all People’s National Movement
(PNM) ” safe” seats.
Dr. Rowley also dropped eight of
his cabinet ministers in his new
slate.
There are a number of other small
political parties and two independents
in the race.