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Int'l Business Times
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Opposition Leader Confirmed Winner Of Trinidad Elections
Trinidad and Tobago's centrist former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar will return as leader of the Caribbean nation after her party's victory in Monday's parliamentary election, the electoral commission confirmed Tuesday. Persad-Bissessar's United National Congress party won 26 of the 41 seats up for grabs in the House of Representatives, ahead of outgoing prime minister Stuart Young's center-left People's National Movement (PNM), which took 13 seats, according to the preliminary results. Turnout in the twin-island nation of 1.4 million people, best known for its carnival and sandy beaches, stood at 54 percent. The final seat tally could change slightly. Several parties, including the UNC, which had been hoping to secure an outright majority, have demanded recounts, but Young, crucially, did not challenge his rival's victory. Once the recounts have been completed President Christine Kangaloo will ask Persad-Bissessar, 73, to form a new government. Claiming victory on Monday, the country's prime minister from 2010 to 2015 told supporters: "We have a lot of work ahead of us." Former energy minister Young took over as prime minister in March when party colleague Keith Rowley stepped down after 10 years in the job to make way for new blood. Rowley on Monday conceded defeat on behalf of the PNM. "Tonight is not a good night for the PNM, but it might be a good night for Trinidad and Tobago," he told local media, lauding the organization of the election and the turnout. Persad-Bissessar's uppermost challenges will be to bring down violent crime rates and revive the sputtering economy. A total of 623 murders were recorded last year -- up from 577 in 2023 -- some of them blamed on Latin America-based criminal gangs like Tren de Aragua from nearby Venezuela. According to a US Department of State report from March, the murder rate of 37 per 100,000 people made Trinidad and Tobago the sixth most dangerous nation in the world last year. The Caribbean's second-largest producer of natural gas has also been battling an economic downturn due partly to a decline in gas production. It had been banking on developing the Dragon gas field in Venezuelan waters, but had its licence revoked by the administration of US President Donald Trump as part of its sanctions on Venezuela.
France 24
28-04-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Violence-weary Trinidadians vote in general election
Former energy minister Young, 50, took over as prime minister of the Caribbean nation in March when party colleague Keith Rowley stepped down after 10 years in the job to make way for new blood. Young's center-left People's National Movement (PNM) has been lagging in polls behind the centrist United National Congress (UNC) of former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, 73. Persad-Bissessar has campaigned on promises of higher public wages to offset an economic downturn. Young has accused her of peddling false hopes, saying there was "no way that a government, any government, could afford" the additional $2-billion bill he said her program would entail. "Everything was pretty smooth," Karen John told AFP after she voted in Valsayn, in northern Trinidad, the larger of the two islands that make up the archipelago off the coast of Venezuela. Voters are electing the 41 members of the House of Representatives, parliament's lower house. The party that emerges with a majority of seats will form a new government, with its leader as prime minister. If no party wins a majority, a coalition government is likely in the English-speaking nation of 1.4 million people, famous for its carnival and sandy beaches. The election is taking place against the backdrop of a severe security crisis. A total of 623 murders were recorded last year, up from 577 in 2023, many of them linked to Latin America-based criminal gangs, including Venezuela's infamous Tren de Aragua, which the United States has designated a "terrorist" group. According to a US Department of State report from March, the murder rate of 37 per 100,000 people made Trinidad and Tobago the sixth most dangerous nation in the world last year. The report noted that the country's southern border, which is around 10 miles from the Venezuelan coast, was "vulnerable to illegal migration, drug trafficking, and human trafficking and smuggling." To try and restore order, the government imposed a state of emergency between December and mid-April. The Caribbean's second-largest producer of natural gas, Trinidad and Tobago has also been battling an economic downturn blamed partly on a decline in production. It had been banking on exploitation of the Dragon gas field in nearby Venezuelan waters, but has seen its licence withdrawn by the administration of US President Donald Trump under renewed sanctions against that country.
