PNM and UNC will soon decide on midterm election candidates

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41 minutes ago

The People’s National Movement (PNM) central executive will meet on May 20 to consider and possibly approve the recommendations of the party’s candidate selection committee for the June 17 Lengua/Indian Walk and Quinam/Morne Diablo by-elections to approve.

Party Secretary General and Youth Development Minister Foster Cummings made the announcement in a statement on May 17.

Cummings said the screening committee has recommended Autly Granthume and Anderson Nanan as respective candidates for the Lengua/Indian Walk and Quinam/Morne Diablo by-elections.

Granthume was the PNM’s candidate for the Lengua/Indian Walk in last August’s local government elections.

Cummings said: “Rooted in its rich legacy of determination to provide good governance and representation for all the people of Trinidad and Tobago, the PNM has called for nominations for the Quinam/Morne Diablo and Lengua/Indian Walk constituencies. , for which by-elections should be held.”

In a statement on May 9, Cummings announced that the PNM had opened nominations for people to consider as candidates for these by-elections.

The deadline for submitting nominations was May 15.

Cummings said: “Several nomination forms have been submitted by the party groups within the two constituencies and yesterday (May 16) these nominees appeared before the party’s screening committee at Balisier House, Port of Spain.”

PNM Chairman Stuart Young, Deputy Political Leader Colm Imbert, Deputy Chairman Camille Robinson-Regis and PRO Faris Al-Rawi are some of the members of this committee.

On May 9, Cummings reiterated that the PNM has a rich history of fielding candidates in every election in Trinidad and Tobago.

Several nomination forms were submitted by the party groups within the two constituencies and on May 16, the nominees appeared before the party’s screening committee at Balisier House, Port of Spain.

The preparations of the United National Congress (UNC) for the mid-term elections are also continuing apace.

A party official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the UNC closed nominations for candidates on May 17 and screening of nominees will begin soon.

The UNC opened the nominations on May 13.

On May 9, UNC President Davendranath Tancoo expressed confidence in the process the party used to select candidates for these by-elections.

He was confident that “the best (UNC) candidate will be selected to represent the citizens in those areas.”

Tancoo claimed that the government did not set the date for these by-elections earlier because it knew the UNC would win them both.

In March, the Court of Appeal rejected a request by the UNC to stop by-elections in Lengua/Indian Walk.

Appellate judges Charmaine Pemberton, Vasheist Kokaram and Carla Brown-Antoine held that a disputed ballot that favored then-UNC candidate Nicole Gopaul-Jones in the August 2023 local government elections could not be counted due to the failure of the return of the Elections and Boundaries Commission. officer to initial it.

The judges rejected the UNC’s election petition. They determined that election rules under the Representation of the People Act allowed for the rejection of the special ballot.

The UNC filed the petition on August 21, 2023, after two recounts resulted in Granthume being declared the winner over Gopaul-Jones on election night August 14, 2023.

Granthume initially received 1,430 votes, compared to Gopaul-Jones’ 1,425. At the end of the first recount, each candidate received 1,428 votes.

The returning officer rejected a special vote in favor of Gopaul-Jones – which would have severed the tie.

Quinam/Morne Diablo was declared vacant following the death of UNC councilor Diptee Ramnath last December.

Ramnath was also chairman of the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation at the time.

Nomination day for these midterm elections is May 24.

The date marks the 14th anniversary of the May 24, 2010 general election in which the then UNC-led People’s Partnership (PP) coalition defeated the PNM by 29 to 12.

The PP was subsequently dissolved after losing the September 7, 2015 general election to the PNM, 23–18