BATTLE FOR 139 SEATS

OVER a million people are eligible to vote in Monday’s local government polls which many view as a portentous precursor to next year’s general election.

In fact, the rallies have largely had a general election flavour, with the Prime Minister and Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi discussing the record of the former People’s Partnership government and alleging non-cooperation on crime-fighting bills. UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has also addressed national issues such as crime and unemployment, yet allowed a wide berth for candidates to spell out local concerns like roads and drainage.

Monday will see the fruits of efforts at rallies, cottage meetings and walkabouts, plus messages over the airwaves and social media postings, under the rival rallying cries of “Getting it Done” and “Talk Done.” Some 1,079,969 electors are registered to vote.

Parties will surely view Monday’s results as a barometer of their chances in the general election and the numbers could even decide if the PM brings forward or pushes back that date.

Some 139 seats are up for grabs on some 14 corporations in Trinidad.

Both main parties, the PNM and UNC, will be trying to get out the vote to hold on to their corporations and to each grab a marginal corporation from their rival – the PNM seeking Siparia and the UNC vying for Sangre Grande.

Smaller parties such as the COP, MSJ, Movement for National Development and the Port of Spain People’s Movement (PPM) will strive to make their mark as third parties between the two behemoths.

In the 2016 local polls, the PNM had won seven corporations, the UNC won six, and one (Sangre Grande) was tied.

The PNM corporations were Port of Spain (all 12 seats PNM), San Fernando (all nine seats PNM), Arima (all seven sets PNM), Point Fortin (all six seats PNM), Diego Martin (all ten sets PNM), San Juan/Laventille (11 PNM to two UNC, with the UNC grabbing Barataria from the PNM in a 2018 by-election), and Tunapuna/Piarco (12 PNM to four UNC.)

The UNC corporations were Chaguanas (five UNC to three PNM), Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo (all 14 seats UNC), Mayaro/Rio Claro (four UNC to two PNM), Penal/Debe (all nine UNC), Princes Town (all ten UNC), and Siparia (five UNC to four PNM).

In Sangre Grande, the PNM and UNC each won four seats, with chairman Terry Rondon then citing his incumbency to claim overall control – a point disputed but never legally contested by the UNC.

Of 137 seats, the PNM won 80 seats while the UNC won 57.

However, the UNC won the majority of the popular vote – some 180,798 votes compared to the PNM’s tally of 174,724. Overall, some 362,260 people voted out of an electorate of 1,060,863 electors, giving a turnout of 34 per cent.

Ignoring boundary changes, the last local election saw about 20 marginal seats, that is those won by less than 55 per cent of votes cast.

This year all eyes will be on the Sangre Grande and Siparia corporations, plus a few marginal seats and two newly-created seats.

Last election, the UNC lost the Sangre Grande North West seat to the PNM by a margin of just 40 votes, which was less than the 78 votes grabbed by the National Solidarity Assembly (NSA).

The PNM and UNC are also keenly vying for the marginal seat of Cumuto/Tamana which the UNC had won by a margin of less than 300 votes.

In the Siparia corporation, three seats will be keenly watched.

Last election, in Siparia West/Fyzabad, the PNM pipped the UNC by an 88-vote margin. This time the MSJ is also vying and, despite the traditional third-party disadvantage, they could affect the final result.

Other seats under close watch at Siparia will be Otaheite/Rousillac, previously won by the UNC with just a 135 vote margin, and Siparia East/San Francique South won by the UNC grabbing 56 per cent of votes cast ­– a 490-vote margin.

In 2016, the UNC and PNM each won three seats at Siparia with hefty margins.

Eyes will also be cast on two newly-created seats – El Socorro/Aranguez North at the San Juan/Laventille Regional Corporation (a PNM-UNC-MSJ three-way fight) and La Fortune/Debe North in the Penal/Debe corporation.

At the Tunapuna/Piarco corporation, a keen contest is expected for the marginal seats of Caura/Paradise/Tacarigua (PNM 2,165: UNC 1,986 last time) and Valsayn/St Joseph (UNC 2,153: PNM 1,852.) In Maracas/Santa Margarita the incumbent PNM councillor will vie as an independent candidate.

At the San Juan/Laventille corporation, marginals include San Juan East (UNC 2,119: PNM 1,725) and Barataria. The PNM won the latter in 2016 by 1,898 votes to the UNC’s 1,506, but in the 2018 by-election the UNC won it by 1,933 votes to the PNM’s 1,825 votes.

In the Princes Town corporation, three seats look marginal – ironically each winner in 2016 taking 53 per cent of votes cast. These are the UNC-held Hindustan and Moruga, and the PNM’s Lengua/Indian Walk.

In Mayaro/Rio Claro, the PNM won Cocal/Mafeking by just 54 votes, while the UNC won Rio Claro South/Cat’s Hill by 90 votes.

In San Fernando, four candidates will vie for the Cocoyea/Tarouba seat which the PNM won last time with a marginal 194 votes or 54 per cent of votes cast. PNM also won Les Effortes West/La Romain with just a 299 margin.

In Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, two seats stand out. The California/Point Lisas seat was won by the UNC by a margin of just 81 votes. This was less than the NSA’s tally of 287 votes, now up for grabs. Also the UNC won the Claxton Bay/Pointe-a-Pierre seat with just 53 per cent of votes cast, suggesting it to be marginal. Underlining all these results however are some 29 boundary changes as stated in the Elections and Boundaries Commission’s 2017 report of boundaries for local government, most notably changes in nine seats in the San Juan/Barataria corporation and for eight seats in the Penal/Debe corporation.