International media watching TT elections

The international media commented on Monday's general election in Trinidad and Tobago.

Various online news sites in Latin America and the Caribbean reported on the parliamentary elections and highlighted the tight race between PNM and UNC.

The Bloomberg Review online (bloomberg.com) said: "Trinidad and Tobago is holding parliamentary elections Monday amid soaring crime, a migration crisis and the longest recession in the Americas after neighboring Venezuela."TT citizens on Twitter were highly critical of its descriptiuon of the state of the country.

It added,"The elections come as incumbents across the region have recently been swept out of office, including in Suriname, Guyana and the Dominican Republic."

The Latin American news channel TeleSur, reported early on the start of the voting.

"After a limited campaign for the application of protocols related to the Covid-19 pandemic, 2,200 polling stations have opened this morning in which the population of TT will elect the next Parliament of the Caribbean country."

In its news report, TeleSur highlighted that the elections "will not have international observers, who declined to participate in the elections after the authorities imposed the obligation of a 14-day quarantine due to the covid19 pandemic."

The Prensa Latina news portal also referred to the election.

"With calm and a good influx of voters, the elections to elect a new parliament began on Monday in TT, amid the conditions imposed by the covid19 pandemic."

"The polls opened at 06:00 (local time) and the first reports indicate the use of facemasks by most of people in the polling stations."

Guyana also woke up on Monday to news of this country's elections in the Stabroek News, Guyana Chronicle and Guyana Times.