RALPH BANWARIE
Local Government Election nomination day in Sangre Grande yesterday passed off without any incidents, save a pile-up of traffic at times.
Inside sources at the Elections and Boundaries Commission centres on Brierley Street and Ramdass Street told T&T Guardian the process was smooth and all candidates’ nomination papers were properly filed, which made the process smooth and free of any challenges.
Yesterday, the streets of Sangre Grande leading to the respective EBC nomination centres were crowded with people dressed in red and yellow shirts and jerseys representing the People’s National Movement and the United National Congress, respectively, the two major parties, which drowned the handful of orange shirts and T-shirts which represented the National Solidarity Assembly (NSA).
The PNM, led by Member of Parliament for Toco/Sangre Grande Glenda Jennings-Smith and current Sangre Grande Regional Corporation chairman Terry Rondon, along with the respective candidates and supporters, armed with PNM flags, jumped, danced and waved flags to DJ music provided on trucks and drummers as they made their way to the nomination centres.
The UNC candidates, led by MP for Cumuto/Manzanilla Christine Newallo-Hosein, had a massive turnout of supporters accompanied by tassa drumming and DJ music. They made their way along the main street in Sangre Grande into Michael Street and on to Ramdass Street, where some of the candidates who fell within the Cumuto/Manzanilla constituency signed their nomination papers. They then made their way along Brierley Street where other candidates in the Toco/Sangre Grande constituency signed their papers.
Candidates who filed are as follows:
PNM: Terry Rondon (Toco/Fishing Pond), Simone Gill (Valencia), Seeta Juteram (Vega de Oropouche), Anthony Wolfe (Manzanilla), Reynold Peters (Sangre Grande South), Rajkumar Bhagaloo (Cumuto/Tamana), Elizabeth Wharton (Sangre Grande North East) and Paul Mangolas (Sangre Grande North West).
UNC: Nimral Singh (Cumuto/Tamana), Anil Juteram (Vega de Oropouche), Kenrick Suepaul (Sangre Grande South), Kenwyn Phillip (Manzanilla), Dyanan Maraj (Sangre Grande North West), Quincy Luces (Sangre Grande North East), Natwani Pitt (Valencia) and Amelia Ram (Toco/Fishing Pond).
NSA: Patricia Harris (Sangre Grande South), Tricia Trim (Manzanilla), Ravi Lakhan (Vega de Oropouche), Kishore Satram (Sangre Grande North West) and Patsy Ramjohn Arindell (Sangre Grande North East).