Jack's last campaign; other small parties soldier on

Independent Liberal Party leader Jack Warner will be retiring from politics after last night’s loss in Lopinot/Bon Air West.

Warner said he “gave it his best shot” and was disappointed, but not bitter. He will now go on to focus on his businesses and all fours

“I thought I would have made a difference in their lives," he said on Monday night of the voters' decision. "All I can hope is in the next five years they don’t suffer in any serious way for the errors which they have made today, this perseverance with the PNM and UNC.”

He thanked all those who worked with him, especially the young people who supported him.

Unlike Warner, Phillip Alexander, leader of the Progressive Empowerment Party, said he was certain those who voted today would suffer tomorrow.

He said the country was “descending into chaos” before covid19 and in a few weeks the chaos would resume.The people of TT still had no water, blood was “running in the streets”, they had no jobs, people could not afford to live, there was no real plan for small businesses to survive, and no one was talking about issues like stopping corruption and overspending.

“PEP was fighting a change away from racist voting.

"We knew it was going to be a herculean task. Everyone assumed Trinidad would have been a little bit more ready. Tuesday morning. everybody who voted are going to wake up in a country that’s still not working...Now that the promise season is over and the reality season is here, I worry for my country.”

Movement for Social Justice leader David Abdulah said while none of itscandidates won a seat, the MSJ achieved its objective of “coming out stronger as a party” as it contested its first general election as an independent political party.

He believed people heard the message but the culture of voting on ethnicity and tradition was too strong, and despite people saying they wanted change, they went back to that culture of voting.

The MSJ, he said, would continue to challenge that.

“While we have not won, we are unbowed, because we believe that the issues that confront the country – the economic crisis, the social problems and so on – tomorrow will be very much the same.

He wished the new government well in the interest of the country, and hoped it had the leadership capacity and policies to rise to the challenges the country would face.

Congress of the People chairman Lonsdale Williams congratulated the PNM on its win.

He said the COP believed there was room for improvement in the governance of the country but “the people have spoken and they have to live with the result.”

He said with the lack of campaign finance reform, covid19 limitations and the short time frame for campaigning, the party knew the election would be an uphill battle.

“For the sake of democracy, for the sake of the view that our population needs to be educated about the rights of citizens, and trying to bring a balance back to Parliament, we felt we should make a go at it, understanding we were going up against teams that were well-oiled and well-financed.”

Fuad Abu Bakr, political leader of New National Vision, said he too knew winning seats would be difficult with the short space of time the party had to campaign.

But he said he was pleased with the party’s candidates as they stood with the party and put their best foot forward. He thanked all those who supported and voted for the NNV.

“It is always a challenge for smaller parties in terms of finance, ability to reach the masses with the type of campaigning that takes place in TT. But we are pleased with the efforts we have made.”

He looked forward to a promising future for the party as it continued to work for better governance.