Analysts: Race talk turned off voters

THE heavy racial content during the general election campaign played a role in the low voter turnout for Monday's election. Political scientist Dr Winford James, former head of the Public Service Reginald Dumas and former PP minister Vasant Bharath expressed this view on Friday.

While the voter turnout declined from 67 per cent in 2015 to 58 per cent this year, James said, "It doesnt seem to have changed the basic result, that is, the PNM winning and the UNC losing, based on the preliminary results."

Outside of the safe seats for the PNM and UNC, James said it would be more interesting to find out what was the voter turnout in the marginal seats.

James said a number of "racial invectives and insults that were traded between the two parties" could have led to many swing voters deciding to stay at home on Monday.

James also predicted the Government will face greater difficulty in passing legislation requiring a special majority, given the 22-19 gap between them and the Opposition. Recalling the division was 23-18 in the last Parliament. James said, it could be "more of the same will happen."

But he hinted, "It might even get worse.

"I think the UNC will be even more steadfast in its approach of not supporting kinds of legislation that requires special-majority support."

While Parliament plays a role in the country's governance system, James warned, "If we have a Parliament that is ethnically split down the middle, that is going to be troublesome."

Dumas said fears about covid19 may have caused some people not to vote.

But he said the result of the election showed there is "a rising level of disenchantment with the political process as a whole." He added, "The kind of campaigning that was done did not raise the level of comfort."

While the race factor is always present during elections, Dumas said people expected a higher level of debate and campaigning from the parties, given the challenges that TT and the rest of the world are facing now.

He said the reduced majority between the Government and Opposition in the House and the "poisonous atmosphere generated in recent times" pose challenges for the Parliament's functioning.

Dumas also called upon civil society to "open its eyes and open its mouths and take action" in terms of holding the politicians to account.

Bharath attributed the low voter turnout to apathy by voters towards both the PNM and the UNC. Outside their respective bases, Bharath said "very few people see either as credible or trustworthy.

"That is particularly the case with the UNC, with many of the platform comments not being properly thought through."

Bharath said, "In the absence of any real ideological differences between the two, people instinctively turn to race."

He also observed, "Generally speaking, history has shown that in a straight one-on-one fight, the PNM has always prevailed.

"It was foolhardy for the UNC to disregard history."