2010 Trinidad and Tobago general election
General elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on May 24, 2010.[1] The date of the general elections was announced by Prime Minister Patrick Manning on April 16, 2010, via a press release. The election was called over two years earlier than required by law. Polls showing that the UNC-led opposition coalition was likely to win the election were confirmed by the subsequent results.[2]
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All 41 seats in the House of Representatives | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 69.45% ( 3.45 pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Trinidad and Tobago |
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With preliminary results showing the People's Partnership coalition likely to win a majority of 29 out of a possible 41 seats, Patrick Manning conceded defeat on election night.[3] The final outcome has the People's Partnership winning 29 seats, and the PNM winning 12 seats. As a consequence of the People's Partnership's win, Kamla Persad-Bissessar of the People's Partnership coalition was elected Trinidad and Tobago's first female Prime Minister.
In 2015, former minister and international football executive Jack Warner alleged financial connections between himself, world football and the conduct of the 2010 general election.
Background
The 2007 general elections awarded 26 of the 41 seats in the House of Representatives to the People's National Movement (PNM) and 15 to the United National Congress-Alliance (UNC-A). Despite receiving almost 23% of the votes cast, the Congress of the People (COP) received no seats. Several smaller parties, including the Tobago United Front/Democratic Action Congress, also failed to secure any seats. PNM leader Patrick Manning retained the position of Prime Minister, while UNC-A leader Basdeo Panday remained Leader of the Opposition.
These were the first elections for a House which had been expanded from 36 seats to 41. Previous elections were mostly decided by five marginal seats—Barataria/San Juan, Mayaro, San Fernando West, St. Joseph and Tunapuna. The 2007 election raised the number of marginal seats to 10, with Chaguanas East, Lopinot/Bon Air West, Princes Town South/Tableland (renamed Moruga/Tableland for the 2010 election), Pointe-à-Pierre and Tobago East ending up among the marginals.[4]
Screening
April 7, 2010, was the start of screening of 41 new candidates for the People's National Movement. The screening began in Manning's San Fernando East constituency, with the other 40 electoral districts following. April 13, 2010, was the start of screening for the United National Congress. Screening for the UNC-A is held at the party's headquarters, which is at the Rienzi Complex in Couva. Screening for the Congress of the People began on April 1, 2010.
Nomination day
Nomination day for the election was May 3, 2010.
Candidates
Winning candidates are in bold.
| Constituency | People's Partnership | PNM | NNV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arima | Rodger Samuel (COP) | Laurel Lezama-Lee Sing | |
| Arouca/Maloney | Anna Maria Mora (COP) | Alicia Hospedales | |
| Barataria/San Juan | Fuad Khan (UNC) | Joseph Ross | |
| Caroni Central | Glenn Ramadharsingh (UNC) | Sheila Madoo-Kurban | |
| Caroni East | Tim Gopeesingh (UNC) | Harold Ramoutar | Prakash Persad |
| Chaguanas East | Stephen Cadiz (UNC) | Mustapha Abdul-Hamid | |
| Chaguanas West | Austin "Jack" Warner (UNC) | Ronald Heera | |
| Couva North | Ramona Ramdial (UNC) | Nal Ramsingh | |
| Couva South | Rudy Indarsingh (UNC) | Anthony Khan | |
| Cumuto/Manzanilla | Colin Partap (UNC) | Darryl Mahabir | |
| D’Abadie/O’Meara | Anil Roberts (COP) | Karen Nunez-Tesheira | |
| Diego Martin Central | Nicole Dyer-Griffith (COP) | Amery Browne | Nigel Telesford |
| Diego Martin North/East | Garvin Nicholas (UNC) | Colm Imbert | Melissa Ochoa |
| Diego Martin West | Rocky Garcia (COP) | Keith Rowley | Zawadi Abu Bakr |
| Fyzabad | Chandresh Sharma (UNC) | Joel Primus | |
| La Brea | Ernesto Kesar (UNC) | Fitzgerald Jeffrey | |
| La Horquetta/Talparo | Jairam Seemungal (UNC) | Nadra Nathai-Gyan | |
| Laventille East/Morvant | Kwasi Mutema (COP) | Donna Cox | Umar Khan |
| Laventille West | Makandal Daaga (COP) | NiLeung Hypolite | |
| Lopinot/Bon Air West | Lincoln Douglas (COP) | Neil Parsanlal | |
| Mayaro | Winston "Gypsy" Peters (UNC) | Clifford Campbell | |
| Moruga/Tableland | Clifton De Coteau (UNC) | Augustus Thomas | |
| Naparima | Nizam Baksh (UNC) | Faiz Ramjohn | |
| Oropouche East | Roodal Moonilal (UNC) | Christin Ramdial | |
| Oropouche West | Stacy Roopnarine (UNC) | Heather Sedeno | |
| Pt Fortin | Nyahuma Obika (COP) | Paula Gopee-Scoon | |
| Pointe-à-Pierre | Errol McLeod (UNC) | Christine Kangaloo | |
| Port-of-Spain North/St Ann's West | Annabelle Davis (UNC) | Patricia McIntosh | Fuad Abu Bakr |
| Port-of-Spain South | Gisselle Russel (COP) | Marlene McDonald | Travis Mulraine |
| Princes Town | Nela Khan (UNC) | Anwarie Ramkissoon | |
| San Fernando East | Carol Cuffy-Dowlat (COP) | Patrick Manning | |
| San Fernando West | Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan (COP) | Junia Regrello | Indrani Abu Bakr |
| Siparia | Kamla Persad-Bissessar (UNC) | Vidya Deokiesingh | |
| St Ann's East | Verna St. Rose Greaves (UNC) | Joanne Thomas | Christian Dookie |
| St Augustine | Prakash Ramadhar (COP) | Balchandra Sharma | |
| St Joseph | Herbert Volney (UNC) | Kennedy Swaratsingh | |
| Tabaquite | Suruj Rambachan (UNC) | Farouk Mohammed | |
| Tobago East | Vernella Alleyne-Toppin (TOP) | Gizel Thomas-Roberts | |
| Tobago West | Delmon Baker (TOP) | Terrence Williams | |
| Toco/ Sangre Grande | Rupert Griffith (UNC) | Eric "Pink Panther" Taylor | Neil De Silva |
| Tunapuna | Winston Dookeran (COP) | Esther Le Gendre |
Conduct
In 2015, former minister and football executive Austin "Jack" Warner said that he had documents linking the outcome of the general election with himself and the finances of football's world governing body, FIFA.[5][6]
Warner made the claims in a paid national television political broadcast, saying that his life was in danger, that he had given the documents to lawyers, and, "I will no longer keep secrets for them who actively seek to destroy the country."[5][6]
Results
The election was won by the People's Partnership coalition, causing Kamla Persad-Bissessar of the UNC to be the country's first female Prime Minister.[7] Persad-Bissessar's coalition won 27 of 41 seats, causing incumbent Prime Minister Patrick Manning to concede defeat.[8][9] Manning's PNM was reduced to 12 seats.[10] In her victory speech, Persad-Bissessar stated: "The honor you've given me is without parallel ... I accept it with deep honor and gratitude."[8]
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| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United National Congress (PP) | 316,600 | 43.72 | 21 | +6 | |
| People's National Movement | 287,458 | 39.70 | 12 | –14 | |
| Congress of the People (PP) | 102,265 | 14.12 | 6 | +6 | |
| Tobago Organisation of the People (PP) | 15,371 | 2.12 | 2 | New | |
| New National Vision | 2,098 | 0.29 | 0 | New | |
| Trinidad and Tobago National Congress Party | 29 | 0.00 | 0 | New | |
| Independents | 314 | 0.04 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 724,135 | 100.00 | 41 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 724,135 | 99.63 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 2,691 | 0.37 | |||
| Total votes | 726,826 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,040,128 | 69.88 | |||
| Source: Caribbean Elections | |||||
References
- "Trinidad and Tobago sets early election May 24". Reuters. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- "Coalition Win Predicted in Trinidad and Tobago: Angus Reid Global Monitor". Angus-reid.com. 2010-05-19. Archived from the original on 2010-05-28. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- "Trinidad And Tobago PM Patrick Manning Concedes Defeat In Snap Vote – WSJ.com". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
- Rampersad, Indira. "Comparison of the 2002 and 2007 elections". Trinidad Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- "Fifa crisis: Jack Warner 'to reveal all despite fears'". BBC Online. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
Jack Warner, a key figure in the deepening scandal, said he had given lawyers documents outlining the links between Fifa, its funding, himself and the 2010 election in Trinidad and Tobago. He said the transactions also included Fifa chief Sepp Blatter.
- Reynolds, Tim. "Former FIFA VP Warner makes televised address in Trinidad". Washington Post (4 June 2015). Associated Press. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
Former FIFA vice president Jack Warner made a televised address in Trinidad on Wednesday night, saying he will prove a link between soccer’s governing body and his nation’s elections in 2010.
- Gray, Madison (25 May 2010). "Trinidad Elects Its First Female Prime Minister". TIME Magazine. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
- Yearwood, John (25 May 2010). "Coalition deals strong blow to Trinidad's traditional leadership". Miami Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
- "Incumbent ousted in Trinidad election". Reuters. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2010.
- "Woman prepares to take over in first for Trinidad and Tobago". Vancouver Sun. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 25 May 2010.