December 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election

Last updated

December 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election
Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg
←  January 2021 6 December 20212025 →
15 seats in the Tobago House of Assembly [1]
8 seats needed for a majority
 First partySecond party
  Farley Augustine 2017 (cropped).jpg Tracy Davidson-Celestine portrait (cropped).png
LeaderFarley Chavez Augustine Tracy Davidson-Celestine
Party PDP PNM
Leader since– [lower-alpha 1] 27 January 2020
Leader's seatParlatuvier / L’Anse Fourmi / SpeysideLambeau / Signal Hill (lost)
Last election48.50%, 6 seats50.36%, 6 seats
Seats won141
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 8Decrease2.svg 5
Popular vote16,93311,943
Percentage58.04%40.93%
SwingIncrease2.svg9.54%Decrease2.svg 9.43%
Chief Secretary before election

Ancil Dennis (caretaker government)
PNM

Chief Secretary after election

Farley Chavez Augustine
PDP

Snap House of Assembly elections were held in Tobago on 6 December 2021 to elect all 15 members of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA). [2] The election was called following a deadlock [3] created by the January 2021 elections which resulted in a tie between the People's National Movement (PNM) and the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP), with both parties winning six seats. As a result, the number of seats in the legislature was increased from 12 to 15 (an odd number) to avoid ties.

Contents

The result was a 14-1 victory for the PDP, ending 21 consecutive years of PNM control of the THA. [4] Tobago PNM leader Tracy Davidson-Celestine also lost her constituency election. The incumbent Chief Secretary of Tobago, Ancil Dennis of the PNM, who held a caretaker role since 6 May 2020 due to the resignation of then Chief Secretary Kelvin Charles as a result of the January 2021 election deadlock, was succeeded by Farley Chavez Augustine of the PDP. Augustine was sworn in as the 5th Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly on 9 December 2021. [5] [6]

Background

January 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election

The January 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election was held on 25 January 2021 where 12 members were elected in the eleventh election since the THA was established in 1980. This election marked the first time in history an electoral deadlock in the Assembly occurred, where the PNM and the PDP won an equal number seats of 6-6, triggering a constitutional crisis with both political parties and Prime Minister Keith Rowley seeking senior counsel advice on the way forward. This election was the first time in 20 years that the PNM lost its absolute majority.

THA Amendment Act 2021

To break the deadlock and a solution to the constitutional crisis Parliament passed and assented the THA Amendment Act in March 2021 gave the Election and Boundaries Commission (EBC) a mandate to increase the number of seats in the Tobago's regional assembly from 12 to an uneven 15 [7] to avoid potential seat ties in the future. On 15 September the House of Representatives passed the EBC (Local Government and Tobago House of Assembly) (Tobago) Order by a margin of 21–18, after which it was passed in the Senate. The bill added three new seats: Lambeau/Lowlands, Darryl Spring/Whim, and Mt St George/Goodwood where two of the original districts were slightly modified under the bill. [8] [9] After the Act being signed into law by the President on 6 October 2021, Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis announced that the December 2021 THA elections were to be held on 6 December 2021. [10]

Lead candidates

Incumbent Minority Leader in the THA, PDP political leader and Public Services Association President Watson Duke publicly reaffirmed his endorsement of the incumbent assembly member for Parlatuvier/L’Anse Fourmi/Speyside and PDP deputy political leader, Farley Chavez Augustine, as the party's lead candidate for the election. Following the January 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election Tracy Davidson-Celestine, leader of the PNM Tobago Council, became the first female political leader of the THA. Her endorsement was reaffirmed by the PNM Tobago Council and Rowley in his position as political leader of the PNM.

New political party

On 1 August 2021, Emancipation Day, a new political party called the Innovative Democratic Alliance (IDA) was launched [11] by former PNM member Denise Tsoiafatt-Angus who ran unsuccessfully as an independent in the January 2021 elections for the Scarborough/Calder Hall seat. In November 2021, the party unveiled 12 candidates for the 6 December elections with Tsoiafatt-Angus competing for the Bethel/New Grange seat. [12]

Electoral system

All fifteen members are elected via First-past-the-post voting. [13]

All Tobagonians and Commonwealth citizens aged 18 or over, legally resident in Tobago and who have resided in an electoral district for at least two months prior to the election date are entitled to vote in the elections. [14]

Campaign

With the loss of four seats to the PDP in the January 2021 THA elections resulting in a 6-6 deadlock, the PNM lost their majority in the Assembly after 20 years of control. With the stakes even higher than the January elections, the PDP campaigned on being an indigenous Tobagonian party proposing a change of the current order to attain independent self-government and equality of status to Trinidad within the Republic. The PNM focused on their 20 years of stable leadership of the Assembly, their management during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the continuous forging of sustainable development throughout the island. Concerns were raised that Trinidadian personalities were attempting to influence the Tobagonian electorate both on the ground and on social media. Accusations were then levelled towards the Election and Boundaries Commission (EBC) for gerrymandering in favor of the PNM with the creation of three new seats as a solution to the 6-6 deadlock. [15]

During the campaign trail past issues were rehashed; the incomplete Main Ridge Forest zip line project and the leadership decisions of Tracy Davidson-Celestine surrounding the resignation of Kelvin Charles as Chief Secretary and the expulsion from the PNM Tobago Council of the then-Presiding Officer (now IDA founder) and Political Leader, Dr. Denise Tsoiafatt Angus. [16] [17] [18] As for the PDP, allegations were made that they were a proxy for the United National Congress (UNC) with the aim for Tobago to secede from Trinidad. [19] [20] Also, the leadership role and past decision making of controversial political leader Watson Duke as Public Services Association President were highlighted. Questions were raised about his treatment towards women, including the issue of being charged with rape in 2016 that is still ongoing before the court. [21] As a tactical change from the January elections, Duke took a reserved approach as Political Leader with Farley Augustine being pushed to the frontline as the face of the PDP.[ citation needed ]

In the final weeks of the campaign, lewd videos and leaked WhatsApp voice notes began circulating on social media of PNM candidate for Parlatuvier/L'Anse Fourmi/Speyside Franka Cordner making disparaging remarks towards THA Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis and Member of Parliament for Tobago East Ayanna Webster-Roy, remarks that Cordner has since apologized for. [22] Meanwhile, in Trinidad, the UNC accused the Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, himself a Tobagonian and the political leader of the PNM, for failing to declare to the Integrity Commission his interest in the Inez Gate Private Development at Shirvan Road, Mount Pleasant. [23] This charge was vigorously defended and dismissed by Dr. Rowley in a media conference accusing the UNC of intervening and assisting the PDP in the final week of the election campaign. [24]    

Results

Tobago Assemblee Decembre 2021.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Progressive Democratic Patriots 16,93358.0414+8
Tobago Council of the People's National Movement 11,94340.931–5
Innovative Democratic Alliance2951.010New
Unity of the People60.0200
Class Action Reform Movement00.0000
Total29,177100.0015+3
Valid votes29,17799.67
Invalid/blank votes970.33
Total votes29,274100.00
Registered voters/turnout51,38356.97
Source: Elections and Boundaries Commission

Notes

  1. ↑ Augustine was publicly endorsed as the PDP's Chief Secretary candidate on 25 January 2021, but Watson Duke is party leader.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United National Congress</span> Political party in Trinidad and Tobago

The United National Congress is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago and the current parliamentary opposition. The UNC is a centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, economist, trade unionist, and actor after a split in the ruling National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR). After spending six years in opposition, the UNC won control of the government in 1995, initially in coalition with the NAR and later on its own. In the 2000 general election, the UNC won an absolute majority in the Parliament. In 2001, a split in the party caused the UNC to lose its parliamentary majority and control of the government. From 2001 to 2010, the UNC was once again Parliamentary Opposition party. In May 2010, the UNC returned to government as the majority party in the People's Partnership. The UNC's Political Leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, was sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Kamla Persad-Bissessar was Prime Minister from 2010 until 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's National Movement</span> Political party in Trinidad and Tobago

The People's National Movement (PNM) is the longest-serving and oldest active political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party has dominated national and local politics for much of Trinidad and Tobago's history, contesting all elections since 1956 serving as the nation's governing party or on four occasions, the main opposition. It is one out of the country's two main political parties. There have been four PNM Prime Ministers and multiple ministries. The party espouses the principles of liberalism and generally sits at the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobago House of Assembly</span>

The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is a unicameral devolved legislative body responsible for the island of Tobago within the unitary state of Trinidad and Tobago. The THA was re-established in 1980 to rectify some of the disparities in the relationship between the two islands; a prior body of the same name existed from 1768 to 1874. In addition to the normal local government functions, the THA handles many of the responsibilities of the central government, but has limited ability to collect taxes and to impose local law or zoning regulations. At the helm of the Assembly Legislature is the Presiding Officer with the fifteen elected assemblymen, and four appointed councillors. Three of the councillors are appointed on the advice on the Chief Secretary and one on the advice of the Minority Leader. The Chief Secretary is the leader of the majority party in the assembly and is at the helm of the Executive arm of the THA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senate (Trinidad and Tobago)</span>

The Senate of Trinidad and Tobago is the appointed upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, along with the President and House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago. The Senate currently sits at the Red House. The Senate has 31 members all appointed by the President: 16 Government Senators appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, 6 Opposition Senators appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and 9 Independent Senators appointed on the discretion of the President from outstanding persons who represent other sectors of civil society. The presiding officer, the President of the Senate, is elected from among the Senators who are not Ministers or Parliamentary Secretaries. A senator must be at least 25 years old and a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. The current President of the Senate is Senator Nigel de Freitas. As of 20 April 2021, there are only 13 female senators, or 41.9% and 6 Tobagonian senators or 19.4%. The Senate made history on 15 February 2022 by appointing Jowelle de Souza as an acting opposition senator, thus making her the Caribbean's first and only transgender parliamentarian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congress of the People (Trinidad and Tobago)</span> Political party in Trinidad and Tobago

The Congress of the People (COP) is a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. Its current political leader is Kirt Sinnette. Its symbol is the "Circle of Circles".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Trinidadian local elections</span>

Local elections in Trinidad and Tobago were held on 2 December 2019, contesting 139 electoral districts across Trinidad's 14 municipal corporation electoral areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election</span>

General elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on Monday, 10 August 2020, to elect 41 members to the 12th Trinidad and Tobago Republican Parliament. It was the 14th election since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1962 and the 22nd national election in Trinidad and Tobago ever. Tracy Davidson-Celestine, political leader of the Tobago Council of the People's National Movement (PNM) became the first woman to lead a Tobagonian political party with representation in the House of Representatives. Additionally, two of the three largest parties elected in 2015, the United National Congress (UNC) and the Congress of the People (COP), were led by women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">January 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election</span> Deadlocked local government election in Tobago

House of Assembly elections were held in Tobago on 25 January 2021 where 12 members were elected in the eleventh election since the Assembly was established in 1980. This election marked the first time in history that both parties elected, the People's National Movement (PNM) and Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) won an equal number seats of 6-6, despite the PNM winning the popular vote, resulting in a deadlock and a constitutional crisis with both political parties and Prime Minister Keith Rowley seeking senior counsel advice on the way forward. This election was the first time after 20 years in power that the PNM lost its absolute majority. This election also marked the first time a female political leader was elected to the Assembly and the first time a woman led a major political party or a political party with representation in the Assembly, following the 2020 Tobago Council of the People's National Movement leadership election where Health Secretary, councillor and former Trinidad and Tobago Ambassador to Costa Rica and former Deputy Chief Secretary of Tobago Tracy Davidson-Celestine made history by being elected as the PNM's first female political leader at the regional or national level and one of the first bilingual political leaders in the country's history. If Davidson-Celestine and the PNM were to be elected with a majority to their sixth consecutive term in office, she would have made history, becoming the first female Chief Secretary of Tobago. The election was held alongside local by-elections in Trinidad in which the PNM and UNC retained two districts and the PNM losing one to the UNC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracy Davidson-Celestine</span> Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician

Tracy Petulia Davidson-Celestine is a Tobagonian politician who is the former Secretary of Health, Wellness and Family Development, as well as a former Councillor in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) becoming one of the leading members addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in Tobago. She is the first female political leader in the THA, a defeated Chief Secretary candidate, the first woman to lead a Tobagonian party with representation in the House of Representatives and Tobago House of Assembly and one of the first bilingual political leaders in Trinidad and Tobago, as a result she has been popularly referred to by the nickname Boss Lady.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tobago Council of the People's National Movement</span> Political party in Trinidad and Tobago

The Tobago Council of the People's National Movement, also known as the Tobago Council of the PNM, PNM Tobago or PNM Tobago Council, is the longest-serving and oldest active political party in Tobago. The party is the autonomous branch of the Trinidad and Tobago People's National Movement operating in Tobago. While its political leader acts in the local capacity, they also serve as a deputy leader on a national level. The party's executives organize for both local and national election campaigns. There have been three PNM Chief Secretaries and administrations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Tobago Council of the People's National Movement leadership election</span> Tobago Council of the Peoples National Movement leadership election

The 2020 Tobago Council of the People's National Movement election were held on January 19, 2020. For the first time, a one member, one vote voting system was adopted for all 17 positions contested. The winner, Tracy Davidson-Celestine, the first female political leader for the party, will go on to contest the Chief Secretary position of the Tobago House of Assembly in the 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election.

The 2020United National Congress internal election was held on Sunday, 6 December 2020, after Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the current leader of the UNC, faced losses commencing in January 2013 with the wipeout of her People's Partnership-led administration from the Tobago House of Assembly at the 2013 election, loss in the 2015 Trinidad and Tobago general election and loss in the 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election. The candidates for political leader were incumbent Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Team Star against former member of parliament for St. Augustine and former Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment in the People's Partnership's government, Vasant Bharath, on Team Lotus. Former senator and Minister of Transport in the People's Partnership's government, Devant Maharaj, was an early candidate for political leader, but was never formally nominated as he dropped out on nomination day on the 15th of November 2020, citing irregularities in the voting process. He endorsed Vasant Bharath and Team Lotus. Kamla Persad-Bissessar won with of 87.15% of the votes, while Vasant Bharath got 12.85% of the votes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progressive Democratic Patriots</span> Political party in Trinidad and Tobago

The Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) is a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. Founded in 2016, it became the second-largest party in Tobagonian politics following the decline of the Tobago Organisation of the People. The party planned to contest the Trinidadian local election and every seat in the next general election, officially launching as a national party on 1 May 2022. It later provided a plan for Tobagonian independence.

The 2022 People's National Movement internal election, the last one for the PNM before the subsequent general election, took place over three days: November 26 and 27 and December 4, 2022. The current party leader and Prime Minister Keith Rowley had indicated he would most likely not seek to lead the party into the next general election. Rowley made these comments in his victory speech on the night of the 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election, where the PNM secured a second mandate under his leadership but with the slimmest majority for a government in two decades. However, he announced that he would seek another term as the party's leader in October 2022. In the 2020 general election campaign, he indicated that he would have stood down had the PNM lost. The election followed the 2022 Tobago Council of the People's National Movement leadership election. Keith Rowley won re-election by an overwhelming majority with a low voter turnout with 9,111 out of 105,894 eligible party members voting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Tobago Council of the People's National Movement leadership election</span>

Elections for the leadership of the Tobago Council of the People's National Movement were on April 24, 2022. For the second time, a one member, one vote voting system was adopted for all 17 positions contested since being implemented in the last election. The winner automatically became a deputy leader of the PNM at the national level. This election preceded the internal election of the leadership of the party at the national level in the 2022 People's National Movement leadership election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watson Duke</span> Tobagonian politician

Watson Duke is a Tobagonian politician and trade unionist. He is the current president of the Progressive Democratic Patriots, a political party in Trinidad and Tobago.

Tobago Forwards is a political party in Tobago, an island located in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The party was founded by political activist Christlyn Moore and Pastor Terance Baynes who serves as the party's leader and president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Trinidadian local elections</span>

The 2023 Trinidadian local elections were held on Monday, August 14, 2023, across all 141 electoral districts in Trinidad's 14 municipal corporation electoral areas. The elections follow a 3-2 ruling on May 18, 2023, from the United Kingdom's Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago's highest court of appeal, which stated that the government's one-year extension of the mandate of councillors and alderman was unlawful. The matter was brought before the Law Lords of the Privy Council by Ravi Balgobin Maharaj, and his legal team led by Anand Ramlogan, SC. The legal action taken by Ravi Balgobin Maharaj was necessary after the PNM government decided to extend the election by one year, which the Privy Council ruled was inconsistent with the rule of Democracy. The judgement handed down to Ravi Balgobin Maharaj by the Law Lords was a landmark ruling in the Commonwealth and marks the first time that a Court upheld the rights of citizens to vote in a Local Government Election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faith B. Yisrael</span> Tobagonian politician (born 1978 or 1979)

Faith Brebnor Yisrael is a Tobagonian public health official and politician who has served in the Tobago House of Assembly since 2017. Initially an appointed member of the body, she was elected in January 2021 as a member of the Progressive Democratic Patriots, though she left the party in December 2022 following disagreements with leader Watson Duke.

References

  1. ↑ "THA election: Tobago returns to the polls December 6". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 6 October 2021.
  2. ↑ "THA election: Tobago returned to the polls December 6". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  3. ↑ McLeod, Sheri-Kae (26 January 2021). "Elections Result in Tie for Control of Tobago House of Assembly". Caribbean News. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  4. ↑ "PDP wins THA elections 14-1; recounts in 2 districts today". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "A Tobago dream come alive". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "FARLEY MANIA". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  7. ↑ "EBC: No increase to 15 seats until THA bill becomes law". Archived from the original on 21 February 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  8. ↑ Polo, Dareece (16 September 2021). "Nobody lives there: Shamfa, Saddam at odds over 'Main Ridge' seat talk". Loop News. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  9. ↑ "PNM Tobago looking forward to TBA poll". Trinidad & Tobago Guardian. Guardian Media. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  10. ↑ "Back to the THA polls for Tobago – DEC 6 TO BREAK 6-6 TIE". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  11. ↑ "Tsoiafatt Angus launches party to create 'new Tobago'". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 3 August 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  12. ↑ "Fresh blood in Tobago politics as IDA enters THA race | Loop Trinidad & Tobago". Loop News. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  13. ↑ "New districts, boundaries approved ahead of Local Gov't elections". www.looptt.com. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  14. ↑ "Who is eligible to vote?". ttconnect.gov.tt. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  15. ↑ "CounterPunchTT – CLAIMS OF GERRYMANDERING IN NEW THA SEATS". 11 September 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  16. ↑ "Davidson-Celestine distances self from $2.5m rope fiasco". www.guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  17. ↑ "Kelvin Charles resigns as Chief Secretary". www.guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  18. ↑ "Callender: Tsoiafatt-Angus is no longer in PNM - Trinidad and Tobago Newsday". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  19. ↑ "Rowley: Duke is an agent of the UNC | Loop Trinidad & Tobago". Loop News. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  20. ↑ Singh, Renu-ka. "Tracy: Crapaud go smoke we pipe if Duke succeeds on secession". www.guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  21. ↑ Bruzual, Alexander. "$250,000 bail for Duke on sex assault charges". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  22. ↑ "THA candidate apologises to Webster-Roy, warns: I am ready for war". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  23. ↑ "UNC calls on PM to clear air on Tobago property". www.guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  24. ↑ "They're trying to help PDP". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.