NTA going after seats UNC needs to win election

THE National Transformation Alliance (NTA) has announced that it will field candidates in ten constituencies, which the Opposition UNC has identified as critical to it winning the next general election.

In a statement on September 2, UNC PRO Dr Kirk Meighoo said the party intends to win 25 constituencies in the election and has identified ten constituencies within that group as critical to its success.

Those constituencies are San Fernando West, La Horquetta/Talparo, Tunapuna, St Joseph, Toco/Sangre Grande, Moruga/Tableland, Mayaro, Pointe-a-Pierre, Chaguanas East and Barataria / San Juan.

Hours later, in a separate statement, the NTA said it will contest these constituencies as well.

NTA political leader Gary Griffith will be leading the charge as the party's St Joseph candidate.

The party said, "We are excited to confirm that (the remaining) candidates for these constituencies will be announced by the end of September."

The NTA added, "We recognise the overwhelming support for the NTA in these constituencies and view this as a crucial step in our journey toward national transformation as we prepare for the general election."

The party referred to photos posted on Facebook of UNC political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar and other UNC parliamentarians wearing blue shirts with yellow UNC insignia at a general election preparation meeting at UNC headquarters in Chaguanas on September 1.

The UNC's plans for a 25-seat election victory were outlined at that meeting.

The NTA's official colour is blue.

The party said, "We also note, with interest and amusement, that another political party has chosen to adopt campaign colours similar to those of the NTA."

This move, the NTA continued, after 36 years of predominantly using another colour, speaks volumes about the significance and relevance of the NTA in the current political landscape."

The NTA was uncertain whether this approach was to mimic its influence or to create confusion among the electorate.

But the party said, "It only serves to highlight the impact we are having on the political discourse in Trinidad and Tobago."

The NTA and UNC had an alliance for last August's local government elections, which ended in a seven-seven tie between the PNM and UNC.

The NTA did not win any districts in those elections but managed to get an alderman appointed to the Diego Martin Borough Corporation.

There has been a public rift between Persad-Bissessar and Griffith since February when Persad-Bissessar accused smaller parties like the NTA of piggybacking on the UNC's resources and bringing nothing beneficial to that party.

That rift widened on August 26 at a UNC cottage meeting when Persad-Bissessar claimed that Griffith was a failure as police commissioner from 2018-2021.

Griffith rejected those claims on the same day.

He has publicly said that should there be no NTA-UNC alliance for the election, the NTA will focus heavily on the marginal constituencies, which both the PNM and UNC need to win the election.

San Fernando West, La Horquetta/Talparo, Tunapuna, St Joseph,Toco/Sangre Grande,Moruga/Tableland,

Pointe-a-Pierre, Chaguanas East and Barataria / San Juan are those constituencies.

The NTA is currently in talks with the Congress of the People (COP) and HOPE (Honesty, Opportunity, Performance, Empowerment) on an election alliance.

Griffith has described the NTA as a party that represents the "bridge constituency" voters who support neither the PNM nor the UNC.