[UPDATED] UNC bids for San Fernando, Tunapuna/Piarco corporations

THE UNC on Tuesday launched a bid to wrest control of the San Fernando City Corporation and Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation, by way of requests for recounts in several seats after Monday's local government elections.

Election night saw the UNC and PNM each win seven corporations, resulting in no overall change to the 2019 election result. UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar calculated the party had won the popular vote, that is, more votes than the PNM.

On election night the UNC won four seats out of nine at the San Fernando City Corporation, and by Tuesday had called for a recount in Cocoyea/Tarouba, which, if it were to win, would bring its tally to five seats and give it control of the corporation.

However,the PNM launched a counter-attack by requesting recounts in two seats won by the UNC – Marabella West, which was won by John Michael Ali Bocas (known as "Makamillion"), and Marabella South/Vistabella, which was previously won for the UNC in 2019 by Marcus Girdharrie, who then defected to the PNM, and on Monday at first count lost to the UNC's Sacha Ali.

The UNC likewise made a bid for control of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation. The UNC retained its five out of 16 seats on election night, and by Tuesday had sought recounts in four seats, which, if successful, would give it control of that corporation, with a tally of nine seats.

The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), in a statement on Tuesday, said it was due to start recounts for 14 seats under dispute, out of the 141 electoral districts in Trinidad which candidates had vied for.

The EBC listed the electoral districts in dispute and the political party of the candidate requesting the recount.

All recounts were due to start at 3 pm on Tuesday at the office of the returning officer of each electoral district where the recount was requested, as previously stated in the EBC's Notices of Election, published in the press under Election Rule 4 of the Representation of the People Act.

A prominent UNC activist told Newsday the victory margin of PNM over UNC candidates in most of the seats being appealed for recount in the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation was in fact less than 50 votes.

He said the margin by which the PNM had reportedly won the Lengua/Indian Walk seat in Princes Town was just five votes. Newsday spent the day trying to contact prominent politicians in the UNC and PNM but no-one was answering their phones, with apparently all hands on deck for the recounts.

On Tuesday evening at the Upper El Dorado Community Centre where ballots for Auzonville/Tunapuna and Maracas/Santa Margarita were being recounted, the mood was quiet but intense. While media were not allowed into the proceedings at 6.30 pm when Newsday arrived at the venue, EBC officials said the ballots for Auzonville/Tunapuna were being recounted, and they were not certain how long it would take.

In addition to the returning officer and another EBC official, the PNM and UNC each had two representatives.

Newsday was unable to speak to the party's representatives. With the same returning officer in charge of both seats, the recount for Maracas/Santa Margarita was expected to be delayed until after the Auzonville/Tunapuna recount.

John Michael Ali Bocas, known as Makamillion, told Newsday he was confident ahead of the recount for his Marabella West seat, due to start at 3 pm on Wednesday.

He said for the preliminary results he had polled 956 votes ahead of his PNM rival Jameela Marryshow-St Hill at 927 votes, a winning margin of 29 votes.

"I don't think they need a recount." Ali Bocas said he could understand a recount in the event of just a few votes but not for 29 votes.

"I don't see a problem coming in the recount. I am absolutely confident.

"On the day (election night) they counted once, twice, three times. Why don't they just accept their loss?"

He said he had personally worked very hard to win the seat, having walked the area over a 50-day period.

"Why recount, after seeing how hard I worked?"

"I was sincere and the result was because of me being real with the people. When I won, the San Fernando corporation exhaled onto the PNM Government."

Ali Bocas also expressed confidence that his UNC colleague, Sacha Ali, would win the recount started on Tuesday for Marabella South/Vistabella.

UNC Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial said many seats were won by small margins, often of ten-20 votes, adding, "But a victory is a victory."

Reports were Sacha Ali had won her seat by 12 votes. Lutchmedial said that after several hours of recount of Marabella South/Vistabella, nothing had changed to unseat Ali, such as any large number of spoiled ballots, a massive miscount or a fraud.

Newsday tried but was unable to contact several PNM candidates deemed winners in the preliminary results but who now faced recounts. These were Teresa Lynch for the Cocoyea/Tarouba seat in San Fernando, John-Boyd Briggs for Auzonville/Tunapuna at Tunapuna/Piarco corporation, and Autly Granthume for Lengua/Indian Walk at Princes Town. Newsday was unable to contact Agriculture Minister Senator Kazim Hosein who was representing the PNM in the recounts, nor party officials Foster Cummings or Laurel Lezama or Tunapuna/Piarco chairman Kwesi Robinson.

Corporations/councils listed for recounts:

The main corporation under review is Tunapuna/Piarco, with four seats: Auzonville/Tunapuna, Blanchisseuse/Santa Rosa, Five Rivers and Maracas/Santa Margarita.

San Fernando City Corporation: recounts in three seats: Cocoyea/Tarouba, Marabella West and Marabella South.

Arima Borough Council: Arima North East and Arima West/O'Meara.

Corporations with one recount each: Diego Martin (Bagatelle/Blue Basin), Sangre Grande (Sangre Grande Northeast), San Juan/Laventille (San Juan East), Mayaro/Rio Claro (Mayaro North) and Princes Town (Lengua/Indian Walk).

Districts up for recount:

Arima Northeast (UNC), Arima West/O’Meara (UNC), Auzonville/Tunapuna (UNC), Bagatelle/Blue Basin (UNC), Blanchisseuse/Santa Rosa (UNC), Cocoyea/Tarouba (UNC), Five Rivers (UNC), Lengua/Indian Walk (UNC), Marabella West (PNM), Marabella South/Vistabella (PNM), Maracas/Santa Margarita (UNC), Mayaro North (UNC), Sangre Grande Northeast (UNC), and San Juan East (UNC).

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

THE UNC on Tuesday launched a bid to wrest control of the San Fernando City Corporation and Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation, by way of requests for recounts in several seats after Monday's local government elections.

Election night saw the UNC and PNM each win seven corporations, resulting in no overall change to the 2019 election result. UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar calculated the party had won the popular vote, that is, more votes than the PNM.

On election night the UNC won four seats out of nine at the San Fernando City Corporation, and by Tuesday had called for a recount in Cocoyea/Tarouba, which, if it were to win, would bring its tally to five seats and give it control of the corporation.

However, the PNM launched a counter-attack by requesting recounts in two seats won by the UNC – Marabella West, which was won by John Michael Ali Bocas (known as "Makamillion"), and Marabella South/Vistabella, which was previously won for the UNC in 2019 by Marcus Girdharrie, who then defected to the PNM, and on Monday at first count lost to the UNC's Sacha Ali.

The UNC likewise made a bid for control of the Tunapuna/Piarco Regional Corporation. The UNC retained its five out of 16 seats on election night, and by Tuesday had sought recounts in four seats, which, if successful, would give it control of that corporation, with a tally of nine seats.

The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC), in a statement on Tuesday, said it was due to start recounts for 14 seats under dispute, out of the 141 electoral districts in Trinidad which candidates had vied for.
The EBC listed the electoral districts in dispute and the political party of the candidate requesting the recount.

All recounts were due to start at 3 pm on Tuesday at the office of the returning officer of each electoral district where the recount was requested, as previously stated in the EBC's Notices of Election, published in the press under Election Rule 4 of the Representation of the People Act.

Corporations/councils listed for recounts:
The main corporation under review is Tunapuna/Piarco, with four seats: Auzonville/Tunapuna, Blanchisseuse/Santa Rosa, Five Rivers and Maracas/Santa Margarita.
San Fernando City Corporation: recounts in three seats: Cocoyea/Tarouba, Marabella West and Marabella South.
Arima Borough Council: Arima North East and Arima West/O'Meara.
Corporations with one recount each: Diego Martin (Bagatelle/Blue Basin), Sangre Grande (Sangre Grande Northeast), San Juan/Laventille (San Juan East), Mayaro/Rio Claro (Mayaro North) and Princes Town (Lengua/Indian Walk).

Districts up for recount:
Arima Northeast (UNC), Arima West/O’Meara (UNC), Auzonville/Tunapuna (UNC), Bagatelle/Blue Basin (UNC), Blanchisseuse/Santa Rosa (UNC), Cocoyea/Tarouba (UNC), Five Rivers (UNC), Lengua/Indian Walk (UNC), Marabella West (PNM), Marabella South/Vistabella (PNM), Maracas/Santa Margarita (UNC), Mayaro North (UNC), Sangre Grande Northeast (UNC), and San Juan East (UNC).