Rowley: Tobagonians not afraid of the polls

THE Prime Minister said on Wednesday that Tobagonians were keen to go to the polls in a fresh election for the Tobago House of Assembly (THA).

He said this as he moved a motion to increase the number of seats in the THA from 12 to 15 in an attempt to avert any future tie.

Dr Rowley urged MPs in the House of Representatives to approve the draft report of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (Local Government and Tobago House of Assembly) Order, 2021, which was later passed by a simple majority in a divided vote.

Justifying the increase in seats, he said it would otherwise be foolish to do the same thing over again and expect a different result, alluding to the likelihood of another stalemate in an election rerun with 12 seats.

The PM said the EBC had acted independently to determine the new boundaries of the THA's seats.

Saying the boundaries for the three extra seats had been decided properly, he addressed concerns that some seats covered larger geographical areas than others.

Rowley said much of east Tobago was mountainous and forested, with coastal villages, with residents more dispersed than in west Tobago.

He said in sparsely populated areas it was not unusual for electoral areas to have to be spread over a greater area to garner enough voters as, he said, had been done in the constituency of Mayaro and Toco/Sangre Grande in Trinidad.

"So these three seats take up the bulk of the geographical area in Tobago but they do not have the bulk of the population in Tobago," he said.

"It is people you are counting, not acres." In contrast, he said in Trinidad, Diego Martin Central and Belmont have a "wall to wall" population density.

Of Tobago's 51,212 registered electors, he said each of the 15 seats was populated by a requisite 3,000-4,000 voters.

He recalled the 18-18 tie.

"I saw all kinds of recommendations coming from all quarters – draw straws, pull hat, spin bottle, go to court, hug up and kiss and do whatever."

The PM said the Government had changed the law to let people go back to the polls.

"We amended the law to allow the THA to be dissolved so they can go back to the polls. Nobody in Tobago is afraid of the polls. Tobagonians want to rectify this thing."

He said the election would be called in a period of 60-90 days after legal approval.

"Today is not election day. This is not the campaign. All we are doing as legislators is clearing the way for the law to be applied."

Rowley said Tobagonians will go to the polls to vote for whom they will.