The Opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) said yesterday’s “dry run” test for next Monday’s Nomination Day exercise, went more smoothly than it has ever done for elections.
PNM general secretary Ashton Ford confirmed the situation after PNM candidates and their agents submitted their documents to Election and Boundaries Commission Returning Officers, across T&T, practising for next Monday’s Nomination Day exercise.
EBC chief elections office Ramesh Nanan also confirmed the test run had gone well. “No problems were reported by our returning officers so we are optimistic things will also go well for next Monday’s official exercise.”
In next Monday’s Nomination Day exercise candidates who are contesting the September 7 general election will have to present their nomination documents to EBC’s returning officers at the 41 EBC officers throughout T&T. PNM general secretary Ford said agents of PNM’s 41 candidates and a number of candidates as well, went to offices of returning officers yesterday. “From all our reports the returning officers were all very, very co-operative and I think for the first time, I have to say a Nomination Day dry run went so smoothly.”
UNC St Joseph candidate Vasant Bharath said he didn’t personally go to file papers in the test run but his campaign manager would have gone and he expected the same would apply to the other 11 UNC candidates. The governing People’s Partnership coalition, of which the UNC is a part, still has to complete naming candidates for 29 constituencies. UNC and Congress of the People (COP) officials were due to complete negotiation on seat allocation by tomorrow, sources said. The COP has named candidates for nine seats. Last Saturday COP issued a statement saying Hamlyn Jailal was recommended for the Tunapuna seat and he had accepted. COP had half a dozen candidates for the seat including its chairman, Jamieson Bahadur.
UNC’s Rienzi Complex head office yesterday confirmed Jailal was the chairman of UNC’s Tunapuna unit, heightening speculation that he is the choice of both the COP and UNC for that seat.
However, UNC campaign manager Rodney Charles said yesterday that parties were putting forward names and candidates were tentative, therefore the official slate would be announced at Sunday’s People’s Partnership rally at a venue yet to be finalised.
Neither UNC nor COP have named a selection for the key marginal seat of San Fernando West, now held by the COP. UNC deputy leader Roodal Moonilal said a San Fernando West candidate would be announced “very soon...”
COP’s executive summoned a strategy meeting last night, COP officials confirmed. Yesterday several high-level UNC officials conceded the slow pace at which candidates are being announced was worrying some supporters, including some top activists in key seats.
But they maintained the PP “has its strategies and was confident its candidate line-up when announced, would resonates with the electorate.”
They assured that the PP would present its full line up of candidates at Sunday’s PP rally.
The Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP), another coalition member of the People’s Partnership, also changed its initial selection for Tobago East from incumbent Vernella Alleyne-Toppin to Joseph Fredericks, a teacher.
TOP also has Natasha Second, a teacher, for Tobago West.
Last Friday Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the coalition was deciding between two locations for Sunday’s rally. Sources said yesterday it may be Mid-Centre Mall, Chaguanas, or another central Trinidad location.
Last night the UNC did a series of “Manifesto Monday” meetings in constituencies to familiarise supporters with the contents of its 2015 general election manifesto “20 pledges for 2020” which was unveiled last Friday.
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The T&T electorate, which will be the biggest for the upcoming election, currently stands at around, 1,099,245, says EBC CEO Ramesh Nanan.
He said the figure was higher last week, around 1,099,450, but that had changed as the EBC continued to examine the list and remove the names of voters who have died.
He said the figure would continue to fluctuate, with a revised and supplemental list to be done within the next two weeks, until the list is finalised closer to the election date.