Politicians unite for Twitter World Cup of National Flags

DESPITE being knocked out of a global competition by Zimbabwe, the TT flag was flown high – at least virtually – on Twitter on Tuesday.

The flag featured in round 16 of an informal contest, the World Cup of (National) Flags.

It caught the attention of the Prime Minister, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bisessar and other local public figures.

The online competition began in March. Every day, the World Cup of Flags (@WorldCupOfFlags) tweets a poll that pits two different national flags against each other. Voting begins at 6am and ends at 4pm.

After two months of heated competition came the round of 16, featuring TT, Zimbabwe, Bhutan, Antigua and Barbuda, Seychelles, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis, Namibia, Canada, South Africa, Brazil, South Korea, Kiribati, Sri Lanka, Vanuatu and Ethiopia.

Zimbabwe and TT were almost disqualified before this round, as the page warned voters not to vote only for the poll their country is in, but for all polls. But when the two went head to head on Tuesday, it decided to relax this rule because the race was too close. It gained near 40,000 participants.

The poll was shared by the likes of Dwayne Bravo, David Rudder, Ian "Bunji Garlin" Alvarez, Machel Montano, UWI St Augustine, Bmobile, Finance Minister Colm Imbert, and Minister of Rural Development and Local Government Kazim Hosein.

Many Twitter users appealed to local, regional and international celebrities to vote. One user said he was willing to tweet US President Donald Trump for help, out of desperation, as the votes stood at 51 per cent to Zimbabwe and 49 per cent to TT, with a little under 20 minutes left to vote.

Dr Rowley tweeted, "Calling all troops from our land of hope and glory. I voted! Did you? Vote TT!"

Calling all troops from our land of hope and glory.

I voted. Did you?

Vote T&T! 🇹🇹 https://t.co/pqcZjptgIE

— Keith Rowley (@DrKeithRowley) May 12, 2020

Persad-Bissessar tweeted, "All proud Trinis! Be sure to join in and cast your vote for TT in the World Cup of Flags!"

All Proud Trinis! Be sure to join in and cast your vote for #TrinidadandTobago in the #WorldCupOfFlags! 🇹🇹 https://t.co/7Vb3BxTYlL

— Kamla P. Bissessar (@MPKamla) May 12, 2020

In the end Zimbabwe was victorious, with 51.1 per cent of the votes, and TT trailed with 48.9 per cent.

But TT people were not sad, distraught or disappointed. Many users said they had not felt this unified in a long time and were happy to see their compatriots come together, especially amid the "difficult time" of the covid19 pandemic.