TUCO fires tabulator over Road March comments

The Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO) has moved swiftly to dismiss a tabulator from its Road March 2025 competition after comments they made on social media suggested a frontrunner in the race for the coveted title.

In a statement issued by TUCO, the organisation said the Road March title is determined strictly by statistics – the number of times a song is played when bands cross official judging points. TUCO clarified that the tabulator’s personal opinion held no weight in the final decision, as the official results were yet to be fully compiled.

“TUCO has since relieved the tabulator in question of her official duties…The opinion expressed by that particular tabulator is irrelevant to the results of the competition which are yet to be tabulated, ” the statement, e-mailed at 2.18 am on March 5, said.

The organisation emphasised its commitment to transparency and fairness, stating that the comments made by the dismissed tabulator do not reflect the actual standings of any competitor.

“The integrity of the Road March competition is sacrosanct to TUCO,” the statement read. “The public and competitors can rest assured that the final results will be based entirely on official counts, not on opinions.”

It added, “TUCO upholds the standards of the Road March competition which are based entirely on statistics. We wish to assure the public and competitors of the road march competition that the comments made by the tabulator in question are not at all indicative of the results of the road march competition and were entirely unauthorised and not in accordance with the TUCO’s criteria and standards.”

The incident sparked concerns on social media about the fairness of the process after Soca artiste Fay Ann Lyons-Alvarez, wife of Bunji Garlin, declared they would no longer participate in the competition.

In a social media post, Lyons questioned statements made by a TUCO judge to the media in San Fernando.

Lyons took to social media and posted on her Instagram account.

She said, “In light of what we’ve just seen on Beyoncé and Elon Musk’s Internet, we have decided that the competition sector is no longer something that’s attractive to us.

"The integrity, the way things are being done, the people that they are putting to do the things that they have to do is very uncomfortable and unsettling to us. So, in light of that, we have decided to step away.

"And I do hope that you all do better, cause y’all have younger artistes coming up, and if y’all really care about culture, then the manner in which you present the culture moving forward should be of the utmost importance, and discipline is a big part of it, as well as transparency, accountability, honesty and, most important, integrity which seems to be in a deficit right now.”

Lyons questioned the "judges’" professionalism.

““Are these JUDGES?? … If soooo Ok … what level of madness is this??

"I’ve been around this competition for yearsssssss … never have I heard or seen judges discussing results prematurely! And to further state you’re getting info from other places and putting it in the public domain before a proper audit or tally is done is the level of “off” that makes you wonder if we really in a simulation.

"You telling me allyuh on Elon musk Internet like we can’t see allyuh giving opinions and insights to results …. And you expect US to trust the process!!! Look allyuh make sense nah!!!

"Ashton Kutcher yuh could jump out now … This have to be a prank!”

She added, “To all the fans that supported Carry It and to all the fans that supported Road Meeting (Lyon-Alvarez’s’ song), we thank you guys very much. We will continue to be delivering and doing music, but at the same time we ask that the powers that be fix it.

"You have younger artistes that would love the experience of being in these competitions and if this is what y’all presenting to them... they’re not stupid.”

The official Road March 2025 results are expected to be announced later on March 5.