Year in Review: A massive blow for PNM in THA elections

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On January 25, 2021, after the People’s National Movement (PNM) completed another four-year term at the helm of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), the island headed to the polls.

The incumbent, led by Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis, was confident in their chance to retain power on the island.

Tobagonians had voted for them consistently for the past two decades, leaving them with little room for doubt that they would continue to lead the Assembly.

In the previous THA election in 2017, the party defeated the newly-formed Progressive Democratic Patriots, led by Watson Duke, capturing ten of the 12 districts.

The PDP had managed to snare two districts.

But with the winds of change blowing in Tobago, what was supposed to be another sweep for the PNM turned into a political deadlock – with each party capturing six districts for the first time since the THA was established in 1980.

Even as the dust settled that night, fresh elections were already being discussed.

Head of the PNM’s Tobago Council, Tracey Davidson-Celestine was asked by reporters whether the party would return to the polls.

“That might be a possibility,” she said that night.

On January 31, Dennis wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, which was published in local newspapers, calling for an amendment to the THA Act, to create another district to break the deadlock.

Dennis sought to assure Tobagonians that the executive, led by him, would continue to operate and Tobago’s business would be taken care of.

At that time, Dennis said he did not believe the deadlock could be resolved by the two parties.

“Therefore, the solution must be a legislative one. All of us are aware that there is only one law-making body in this country, called the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. It is in this context that as Chief Secretary, I am requesting that the Prime Minister engage the Parliament to treat with this situation, as a matter of urgency.”

PDP seeks deadlock resolution

But while the PNM wanted to head back to the polls, the PDP did not.

Immediately after the results were announced, the PDP’s Chief Secretary-designate, Farley Augustine expressed hope that the parties could resolve the deadlock themselves.

“The central government should not attempt to use its legislative powers to circumvent national justice and to install, wrongfully, their own. What must happen is that we must have a conversation, face to face and work out how this will be done. If it cannot be worked out, sadly, we will have to return to the polls and that’s not our wish. Our wish is that we can work this out as mature political beings,” Augustine said.

Their contrasting statements would set the tone for the next several months in the Assembly, as the 12 elected Assemblymen struggled to agree on even electing a presiding officer.

Several weeks later on February 19, with the issue of electing a presiding officer still outstanding, the six PDP Assemblymen issued a pre-action protocol letter, threatening to sue the THA’s clerk over the repeated rejection of their proposal to resolve the ongoing deadlock in electing a presiding officer.

One attorney for the party, Lionel Luckhoo said the impasse was “unlawfully frustrating the democratic choice of Tobago’s electors”.

That same day, the Parliament was set to debate the THA Amendment Bill 2021, which would increase the number of electoral districts from 12 to 15.

The PDP, the United National Congress and several other bodies opposed the Bill almost immediately- with widespread claims that three new districts would give the incumbent PNM an unfair advantage in a fresh election.

But the Bill would be assented to by President Paula-Mae Weekes in March and proclaimed by her on July 26, clearing the way for the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to create three new districts in Tobago.

Three new districts created

On September 10, the EBC’s report and draft order to create three new districts- Darryl Spring/Whim, Mt St George/Goodwood and Lambeau/Lowlands- was laid in Parliament.

At that time, Whim fell within the Black Rock/Whim/Spring Garden district.

Lambeau was a part of the Lambeau/Signal Hill district and Mt St George was a part of the Bacolet/Mt St George district, while Goodwood fell within the Goodwood/Belle Garden district.

On September 15, the EBC’s drag order was approved by the Parliament.

Over in Tobago, the PDP hit the ground running, launching their campaign that same day. The party announced it was already finalising its candidates, although an election date was yet to be announced.

Three weeks later, during a post-Executive Council media briefing, Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis announced that fresh elections would be held on December 6.

At that time, both the PNM and the PDP had announced they would contest all 15 districts.

The newly-formed Innovative Democratic Alliance (IDA), headed by former PNM stalwart, Dr Denise Tsoiafatt Angus also announced they would contest all 15 districts.

As the campaign heated up, the Class Action Reform Movement, headed by businessman Ricardo Phillip, also announced its intention to contest the election. Phillip would eventually file nomination papers for the Buccoo/Mt Pleasant district, challenging PNM incumbent, Ancil Dennis.

Dennis would find his district was the most hotly contested in the election, with a total of five candidates, including the Unity of the People (UTP’s) sole candidate, leader Nickocy Phillips.

In total, five political parties fielded 45 candidates for the election, giving Tobago’s electorate of just under 52,000 people a wide variety of choices on December 6.

On the campaign trail, promises abounded for Tobagonians, with the PDP promising to fix the island’s issues, while the PNM urged Tobagonians to stay with the party for stable leadership.

PNM promises stimulus package

From the PNM camp came a promise by Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis that a $50 million stimulus package would be made available to support struggling Tobagonians and business owners.

The package would also assist in enhancing the island’s struggling tourism sector, Dennis promised.

The party also pledged to meet the high demand for housing on the island, generate new jobs and revive the construction sector. The party’s manifesto stated it would provide fully serviced lots to encourage building construction and guarantee ownership of property by residents.

It stated that it intends to construct 400 new homes at Courland Estate, Shirvan Estate, Adelphi Estate, Roxborough Estate, Indian Walk Estate and Riseland Estate.

The party also promised to provide 250 subsidised rental units for low-income earners, the elderly, the indigent and the physically challenged.

Tracey Davidson-Celestine also promised a $60 million revitalisation project for the Scarborough waterfront.

She said that project would include a 2,000-foot long boardwalk, marketplace, food court, restaurants, bars, cafes, entertainment and retail shopping spaces.

Davidson said the project had been in the works for the past three years and would be jointly funded by the State and the Inter American Development Bank.

The proposed project would have been started in January 2022, Davidson-Celestine said.

PDP’s plan for new city of Scarborough

But the PDP camp had promised something very similar to Tobagonians before the January election, revealing a 12-point plan with its vision for the “New City of Scarborough.”

That plan included a new ferry terminal, a roundabout and a museum.

PDP political leader, Watson Duke also promised THA employees an ex-gratia payment for Christmas if the PDP was elected.

Instead of a manifesto, the PDP produced a mandate, which included calls for a larger allocation from the national annual budget.

“Via the Dispute Resolution Commission (DRC), Tobago is entitled to access between 4.03 per cent and 6.9 per cent of the National Budget. Tobago has been short-changed every year for past 20 years. The PDP will be seeking an allocation closer to 6.9 per cent instead of the usual 4-5 per cent. This will give us the additional finances which we are entitled to and bring us closer to achieving our developmental goals,” it stated.

The party also called for the creation of a Tobago National Development Bank.

The PDP also promised the electorate that if they won the election, they would lead the THA with integrity, accountability and transparency.

All of the party’s 15 candidates signed a contract agreeing to the PDP’s eight principles of governance- which PDP deputy Farley Augustine said would be the guiding principle by which every candidate must operate.

And while campaign promises are standard in almost every part of the world during elections, there was also mudslinging- which has unfortunately become part of the fabric of local elections.

Claim of character assassination ploy

On November 19, videos and voice recordings of PNM candidate for the Parlatuvier/L’Anse Fourmi/Speyside district, Franka Cordner surfaced on social media.

The videos showed Cordner involved in lewd dancing, while the voice recordings captured her making derogatory comments about her colleagues.

Davidson-Celestine, speaking during a PNM meeting, accused the PDP of releasing the clips.

“Character assassination and hate speech don’t belong in Tobago. And (the) PDP needs to apologise to every woman on this island,” Davidson-Celestine said in a text exchange with Guardian Media that day.

Cordner was challenging PDP deputy, Farley Augustine for the district he had managed to hold since 2017.

When asked to address Davidson-Celestine’s statement, Augustine said, “There is absolutely no truth that. Zero truth whatsoever. No clips of her started with me, or was distributed by or was authorised by me.”

Augustine went on to say he had no need to disparage Cordner to win his district a third time.

He also criticised the PNM for making Cordner a “martyr.”

“This is the same person, who, along with her colleagues, demean and ill-spoke other female candidates over the last two elections and that was acceptable. It is just crazy weird that they are now holding her up as the gold standard for demeaning one of her own,” Augustine said.

And while the parties sparred on the platform, Tobagonians were complaining of high unemployment, a rising crime rate, poor infrastructure, a lack of training opportunities for youths and agricultural neglect among other things.

There was also a widespread perception on the island that only certain Tobagonians benefited from the Assembly’s operations.

PDP crushes PNM

When the island headed to the polls for the second time in one year on December 6, Tobagonians voted resoundingly for the PDP- giving the party 14 of the 15 districts.

Even former chief secretary, Dennis, was dismissed by the people of Buccoo/Mt Pleasant, with the PDP’s Sonny Craig taking his seat in the Assembly by just four votes.

The PNM’s lone Assemblyman, Kelvon Morris, captured the majority of votes in the Darryl Spring/Whim district.

The EBC said there was a higher voter turnout- with 57 per cent of the electorate showing up to cast their votes, up from 51.84 per cent during the January election.

Speaking in Speyside on election night, Augustine said the results were a strong message to the PNM and its Tobagonian leader, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.

“We have rejected your bullying tactics and the kind of bullying that happens in Trinidad, we reject that,” he said.

Dressed in a white hoodie, Augustine promised Tobagonians he would not give favour to PDP supporters and promised to lead a Tobago for all.

PDP supporters across the island were jubilant, with many celebrating at the party’s headquarters in Roxborough, prompting police to come out in their numbers to regulate the celebrations.

But across the island, at the PNM’s camp at the Shaw Park Cultural Complex, all was quiet.

No supporters turned up and the chairs set out in front of a podium remained empty.

Although Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley had been on the island since Friday, he too did not make an appearance.

In conceding to the PDP, a grim Davidson-Celestine said the PNM was ready to serve as the island’s minority.

“I congratulate the PDP and its leadership Farley Chavez Augustine and Watson Duke for winning. I wish them all the best in the upcoming term of the THA,” Davidson-Celestine said.

“We are saddened by the situation but it’s an opportunity for us to regroup and do introspection … the PNM is still here to represent you,” she added.

The new Assembly was sworn in on December 9, with Augustine as Chief Secretary and Duke as deputy Chief Secretary.

Duke’s controversial post

At a press conference on December 10, Augustine announced he had given Duke three months to resign from his position as president of the Public Services Association (PSA.)

Augustine said Duke would not be assigned an additional portfolio on the Assembly until he resigns, to prevent potential conflicts of interest.

On December 13, Duke wrote to the PSA executive, offering his resignation effective December 31.

However, on December 15, Attorney General Faris Al Rawi, who had insisted Duke needed to step down immediately from his PSA post, filed a construction summons in the High Court to interpret a section of the THA Act.

That section relates to Duke’s appointment as deputy chief secretary while also serving as PSA president and as a member of the Registration, Recognition and Certification Board (RRCB.)

In a release, the Office of the AG made it clear the court action does not seek to unseat the election of anyone to the THA or the executive council.

“It merely seeks to clarify the law in the THA Act, as well as the Integrity in Public Life Act, Chap. 22:01, regarding the prohibition against a secretary of the THA and a person in public life, engaging in activities which would be in conflict with his duties as a secretary,” the release stated.