Battle for Tobago: Seven parties vie for two constituencies

THE stage is being set for an epic battle for the two Tobago seats in the April 28 general election.

Several political leaders have signalled their intention to contest the Tobago East and West seats, which the People’s National Movement (PNM) has controlled for the past ten years.

Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) political leader Watson Duke, assemblyman for Belle Garden East/Roxborough/Delaford, will contest the Tobago East seat, currently held by the PNM’s Ayanna Webster-Roy. He is expected to announce the candidate for Tobago West on March 24.

This will be his third attempt to wrest control of the seat.

Duke first ran for the seat in 2015 as an independent before he formed the PDP, then again in 2020 under the party’s banner.

He said he got the people’s support.

“There is no speculation, there is no shade of grey on that area. The people within the PDP party and the villagers of Roxborough, they have requested that I run for Tobago East and I have consented, so I am going to run for the Tobago East seat,” he said.

Duke said Tobago is crying out for a change in representation.

“I have respect for both Shamfa (Cudjoe-Lewis) and Ayanna, they are both good candidates but like all things their seasons have passed and we are beyond that. We are looking for fighters to go to Trinidad, not just persons who would just contribute a vote to anything. Tobago must stand out and Tobago must be represented as an idol with its own history and its own vision of its future.”

On the Tobago West candidate, Duke said, “The person I am choosing, that person is a fighter, a public fighter. That person is a no-nonsense person and I would say that we would be going to Trinidad as the finest fighters Tobago could have possibly engaged.”

He added: “We come all inclusive. What I miss he would capture, what he misses I would capture, so it’s really a nice duo and a nice tag team.”

Duke believes the PDP will win the two Tobago seats.

“We expect a clean sweep so to speak, not being cocky about it but we expect that to resonate with the Tobago-ness inside of all of us as Tobagonians.”

Patriotic Front leader Mickela Panday has already announced Aretha Clarke as the party’s candidate for Tobago West and the Tobago East candidate will be revealed in due course.

She said so far, 14 candidates have been confirmed and the party’s full slate of 41 candidates will be announced “sometime soon.”

“We have 35 days. So I could say in the near future would be very precise, sometime soon,” Panday told Newsday in a brief phone interview on March 20.

Panday, daughter of late prime minister and UNC founder Basdeo Panday, said her campaign is being fought “on the ground.”

On March 17, after Stuart Young was sworn in as Prime Minister, Panday and members of her team held a walkabout in Sea Lots. A video of the walkabout was posted on social media.

She said, “We have to be on the ground. There is nothing else. We have been on the ground or some time now and we will just continue that. We just have to meet people and speak with people, listen to what people have to say.

“All the candidates that have been announced, they have been on the ground and that is what it really is about. It is being on the ground and we will continue that.”

Like the Patriot Front, the Tobago People’s Party (TPP) has confirmed one candidate for the upcoming poll.

In the TPP’s camp, retired assistant fire chief was announced as the candidate for Tobago East on February 10.

And it’s anybody’s guess who will be selected to contest the Tobago West seat after Secretary of Infrastructure, Quarries and Urban Development Trevor James and retired public servant Barry Nelson were rejected as prospective candidates, more than a month after they were screened for the seat on February 6.

In a media release on March 16, the TPP’s screening committee directed the party’s executive to “consider additional prospects” for the Tobago West constituency. It said the order was given after consultation with the Tobago West action groups.

The party is expected to announce its Tobago West candidate during its special convention on March 23 at Rovanel’s Resort, Store Bay Local Road, Bon Accord, from 4 pm.

Innovative Democratic Alliance (IDA) political leader Dr Denise Tsoiafatt Angus plans to reveal her two Tobago candidates next week.

“The IDA is ready for the elections. As per our plan, now that the date has been called, our candidates will be introduced officially to the public at a media conference on Tuesday, March 25, 2025.”

Tsoiafatt-Angus said the IDA is “resolute in giving true representation to the families who live here including the 60,000 Tobagonians.”

The Unity of the People (UTP), led by Nickocy Phillips, is also finalising its candidates for the two Tobago seats.

“An announcement will be made soon,” Phillips said.

The UTP previously contested the general elections in 2015 and 2020 but was unsuccessful on both occasions.

National Transformation Alliance (NTA) political leader Gary Griffith, whose party has joined forces with Honesty, Opportunity, Performance and Empowerment (HOPE) and Community Reformation Network (CRN), said all 41 candidates will soon be announced. HOPE is led by Timothy Hamel-Smith.

Griffith told Newsday, “We (NTA) just have two more to announce, Point Fortin and La Horquetta. But we are just holding back because on Saturday, we are holding our final meeting with our fellow alliance members, HOPE and CRN to finalise who they will be submitting as candidates. So we could have it all forwarded to the media.”

He said the NTA has announced “over a dozen candidates already.”

These include Diego Martin West (Marsha Walker), Diego Martin Central (Russell Chan), Port of Spain South (Gail Gonzalves-Castanada), St Joseph (Griffith), Tunapuna (Savita Pierre), Lopinot/Bon Air West (Nicolene Taylor Chinchamee), Arima (Jairzingho Rigsby), Toco/Sangre Grande (Christine Newallo-Hosein), Chaguanas East (Norman Dindial), and San Fernando West Dr Kevin Sarran (deputy leader).