Category: Local Government Elections

Local Goverment Elections 2010 results and manifestos

July 28, 2010 by Edmund Gall

The local government manifestos released by the various parties for the elections on 26 Jul 2010 may be found below:

• People's Partnership: http://www.unc.org.tt/downloads/10-peoples-localgov-manifesto-2010/downl...
• People's National Movement: [PDF to be provided] http://www.pnm.org.tt/morenews.php?ach_id=%27152%27

You can get some details about each LG area (e.g. contact details) from the official Ministry of Local Government website and this article posted by Christian Khabay on knowtnt.com. 

According to the Trinidad Express, 386,830 out of the 998,787 total electors voted in Monday's local government election (LGE), giving a 39% turnout.  This was marginally higher 2003's turnout, which was allegedly 38%.  I can find no trustworthy LGE figures online - the EBC doesn't publish them.  Perhaps they, like the public, don't think it's important - but, then, why do they publish the THA election figures (which is like Tobago's LGE)?  If you think the info on Wikipedia is correct, think again: their 378,637 figure for voter turnout is 42% the total electors from the EBC's Annual List 2003 - the Express story quotes the EBC's current Communications Manager, Leslie Fitzpatrick, as stating the turnout back then was 38%.  So, as with anything from Wikipedia, take their data with a bit of salt. {Read more}

Bubbles in the pot keep rising

July 1, 2010 by Edmund Gall

Like many of you, I'm quite distracted lately by the FIFA World Cup 2010 tournament in South Africa, so I haven't been as prolific in my writing as before. Here are some brief thoughts on issues that crossed the online forums I've browsed over the past two weeks.

Local Government Elections

• Official claims are that it was scheduled for July to halt the damage to our democracy that the annual postponement over the past 4 years has caused.
• Some analysts have welcomed the snap Local Government Elections, while one person has warned it's too soon.
• The average citizen can't help but admire how convenient it is to host this while the People's Partnership is basking in the glow of its General Election success before the bad news of their first National Budget is delivered; healing democracy may be a fringe benefit.

SAPA and potential disconnect? {Read more}

• The Hon. Multiculturalism Minister Winston Peters complained that SAPA is too small for the money spent: 'If you have a show in Trinidad and Tobago and you have 810 people, then you have a buss show.'
• However, the artists themselves, through ACTT, complained that the NAPA in Port of Spain didn't have enough smaller auditoriums with maximum seating capacity for 400 patrons.

Local Government Structure; Trinidad

June 23, 2010 by Christian Khabay

{Read more}