Trinidad and Tobago goes to the polls
Citizens
of Trinidad and Tobago will cast votes to elect their political representatives
in a general election today, August 10.
Roughly
1.1 million Trinibagonians are eligible to vote in the elections that will
see19 political parties field more than 140 candidates to decide who will lead
the nation for the next five years.
For
many, the race is between the incumbent People’s National Movement (PNM), led
by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, and the United National Congress (UNC) led
by former Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar.
In
the 2015 General Election, the PNM won 23 of the 41 seats contested.
Voting
began at 6:00 a.m. on the twin-island republic that also had to implement
protocols to help combat the coronavirus pandemic which has infected more than
200 people, killing eight.
The Elections and Boundaries Commission
requires voters to wear masks, maintain six feet of social distance and
sanitise before and after entering the polling station.
Voting will end at 6:00 p.m. at the
country’s 2,200 polling stations.
