Political scientists: No tribal politics in Tobago

POLITICAL scientist Dr Bishnu Ragoonath said while some in Trinidad may be influenced by tribal politics and the ever-present racial divide, people in Tobago vote differently.

Ragoonath, in an interview with Newsday on March 21, spoke about the seven-way battle for the two Tobago constituencies in the upcoming general election.

He said Tobagonians do not engage in tribal politics, but vote on trust, performance and respect.

“It is a matter of understanding and believing which party is more trustworthy in delivering to the people of Tobago,” he said.

“The Tobago People’s Party (TPP) as well as the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) will argue that Tobago has been fighting for self-autonomy for the longest while and the PNM, which has been in power for the last ten years, have not delivered. But that is just one aspect of it."

Ragoonath said before the PDP split in 2021, there were campaign promises about eliminating corruption in Tobago. He said that remains an issue.

“The question is: has the Farley administration done enough to say they have delivered to the people of Tobago in accordance with their mandate, or are they going to say they have not, or are they going to use and excuse and blame someone?”

He added respect is also a big factor, one that may have cost the PNM the election in 2021.

“When we had the six-six tie in the THA (in January 2021), the voting numbers showed that PDP only had a slightly larger percentage of the vote than the PNM.

"However, when we had the election some 11 months later, in December, what we saw was that the number of people did not necessarily change, but the percentage voting for PNM had dropped significantly.”

He said after analysis of the votes in the THA election in December 2021, it was discovered that Tobagonians felt disrespected by the PNM.

“The PNM had gotten six seats, the PDP had gotten six but the PNM was being overly greedy when it came to sharing power.”

Political scientist Dr Indira Rampersad told Newsday Tobagonians are disenfranchised with its governance, but said this is directed at the central government which is controlled by the PNM.

“There are a lot of issues facing Tobagonians.

"In recent times we have seen crime in Tobago that has never occurred before."

In 2024, there was a record breaking number of murders – 26.

Rampersad said tourism, which Tobago depends heavily on, has been negatively affected by crime.

"The cost of living, food, fuel, housing, transportation and particularly youth unemployment are all big problems for Tobago.

“I think there is a high level of disenchantment in Tobago right now.

"The winds are not in favour of the incumbent PNM there and they put back their two incumbent candidates, so there is no perception of change."

Ragoonath agreed that there was disenchantment and disillusionment among Tobagonians but said it may not be directed solely at the PNM.

“People are feeling disenchanted throughout the country that the government and politicians have not necessarily done much to improve the quality of life in the country,” he said.

“As to whether or not that will impact upon how they vote in the election, we will really have to wait and see."

Ragoonath said that disillusionment was with both the PNM and the TPP in Tobago.

“Because the THA is led by one party and the central government is led by another party, some people feel the Farley administration has not kept its promises and they are responsible for that. "But others are saying that the Farley administration is being hampered by central government’s policies and so on and they cannot do more than what they have done.”

Rampersad and Ragoonath agreed that the number of political parties could result in a split in votes.

But Rampersad said the race is between the PDP, TPP and PNM.

“I think we would need to have some polls to determine the extent to which there would be a split.

"I am not sure how popular Watson Duke still is, but I don’t think the other parties would make a dent in the politics. I think its between the TPP, PDP and the PNM.”

Ragoonath said a split could benefit PNM more than any other party. He said in previous elections, smaller parties did not make an impact on results.

With the TPP joining the fray, Ragoonath said there is greater pressure on Tobagonians and how they vote.

“The PNM, whether in Tobago or in Trinidad, has its base and that base does not really shift. But having said that, we know for a fact there is a significant opposition.

"That opposition will now be called upon to vote and share that vote between at least two parties.

“If the opposition vote is split between the PDP and the TPP, that creates a scenario for the PNM to win on a plurality vote."