PM: New EBC HQ symbolises commitment to democracy

THE Prime Minister said a new headquarters for the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) will symbolise TT's enduring commitment to electoral democracy, addressing the sod-turning ceremony on February 12.

The six-storey office-block, able to accommodate 218 people in 61,329 square feet as described on the website of project manager Udecott, will be built on the corner of Saddle Road and Lamy Street, St Clair, obliquely opposite Kapok Hotel.

Dr Rowley said, "It is a historic day and we should not take it lightly."

He said it was "not just another building", alluding to its greater symbolic significance.

"It is important to recognise that still in 2025, all over the world there are groups of people of all races, creeds, sizes, class and social standing who are either fighting for the vote or fighting to defend the electoral process. All over the world.

"Let us accept this building as a celebration of a century of electoral processes in TT."

Rowley recalled that in 1925, the British had offered TT a limited electoral franchise, qualifying by such as ownership of a certain quantity of cocoa production.

"To get it, you couldn't just be anybody. You had to be somebody."

By the mid-twentieth century, the franchise had broadened, with woman and 18-year-olds in due course each getting the vote, in what Rowley dubbed "an evolution."

He said in the past, the EBC had occupied locations all over TT and Port of Spain.

"This building is coming to you by the deliberate actions of the Government of the day."

Saying the site had once housed the now-demolished old St Clair police station, he recalled once negotiating for a proposed hotel to be built on the site, but that idea was ditched after a lack of funding by the private sector.

Rowley said in the long-run, it was economically better to own a building than to pay rent. The Government had found the EBC to be a good candidate to have its own building. He said the proposed building was "great value for money."

He made the point the building would be purpose-built for the specific needs of the EBC, unlike past rental properties accommodating the EBC.

Reflecting on TT's independence from the UK, he said, "That agreement to be a democratic nation, to be governed by the will of the people, is fundamental to our well-being."

Saying some people bad-talked elections, politicians and the EBC from time to time, he reiterated that the democratic process was fundamental to TT's well-being.

"Elections have consequences, for all of us," he said, "And we have to have faith in elections, if we are to be comfortable between elections.

"Therefore the Government taking this decision – to let the EBC have a building for the next 50, 60, 70 years, as long as the structure would last – is a commitment to the democratic process."

Rowley said the new EBC HQ was a commitment to the process whereby the people under the Representation of the People Act and other laws would continue to govern themselves via an independent EBC serving to the population's satisfaction.

He saluted the EBC on its 50th anniversary due next year.

"During that 50 year period we (EBC) didn't serve only the people of TT. Very many officers of the TT EBC have done yeoman service in serving larger countries as far away as Africa, in getting to learn from us a bit of our experience when they embark on becoming a democratic nation."

Rowley recalled meeting one or two African leaders who expressed their gratitude to TT for the presence of EBC staff during their elections who had guided those nations away from pitfalls so as to hold successful elections.

"These are countries where the ballot box was the last to come, because before that it was the bullet or the cutlass.

"And when they joined us as choosing the ballot, TT was there in such country. That is why we should be proud."

Rowley noted the EBC's use of IT and data, in its record-keeping.

"I don't know how many of you are paying attention to the furore in the richest nation of the world today, the most powerful military nation in the word today.

"The furore last night and this morning was that the population is rising up, asking questions about who is having access to their data."

He said the EBC holds people's names, date of birth, address and gender.

"You might think that is just by the way, but when you understand how that can be used for you or against you, you will then realise how important it is to have an up-to-date EBC, a secure EBC and an independent EBC."

Rowley recalled the work PNM administrations had done on TT's main buildings including renovating Queens Royal College (QRC) and the Magnificent Seven historical buildings, and shifting civil lawsuits to the International Waterfront Centre so all criminal cases remained in the Halls of Justice.

Energy Minister Stuart Young said the Government had never built any vanity projects but only useful items such as the Port of Spain General Hospital's Central Block and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in St Clair. He said despite much "noise" over the EBC, no High Court ruling has every found that the EBC was unfair. He said TT citizens should be particularly proud of that.

"As we prepare ourselves for the next general election due this year, I look forward to it."

Finance Minister Colm Imbert, when asked about his screening for his Diego Martin North/East seat on February 17, told reporters he still had some projects to do in his constituency such as improving recreational grounds. Asked if he would make himself available to be finance minister if asked to by the Government post-election, he replied that such appointments were the then-PM's prerogative. "I know my place," Imbert said.