Tobago Chamber head: Deadlock must be resolved

President of the Tobago Division of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Diane Hadad says the deadlock in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) must be urgently resolved.

Unofficial figures from the Elections and Boundaries Commission revealed the People’s National Movement (PNM) and the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) won six electoral districts each in Monday’s THA election.

A decision on the way forward is yet to be announced. During the THA’s 40-year history, there has never been a tie in the assembly after an election.

Hadad said the situation must be addressed.

“It needs to be resolved pretty quickly because we cannot sit down in pause mode for much longer,” she told Newsday. “Remember, we already on pause for the last number of years. So pause mode cannot be where we are much longer.”

Hadad said the fact that there was no immediate resolution to the deadlock highlights the flaws in the system “in terms of the Constitution, because no authority can step in.”

She added: “To me, that sends a big signal. It means 12 Tobagonians go into the room (Assembly Chamber) to make sense for the island and somebody, in their wisdom, years ago, thought that Tobago was smart enough to sit in a room and come up with what’s best in the interest of the island.

“Whether that works for today’s level of thinking is another question to be answered.”

Hadad said the problem could be solved by someone crossing the floor.

If not, she said Tobagonians could also return to the polls.

“And it seems to me the people who were sitting on the fence, who were frustrated, we will have an even more fiery election.”