Trinidad & Tobago’s 2020 election results are currently being recounted · Global Voices
Finger stained with electoral ink after voting in Trinidad and Tobago's general election on August 10, 2020. Photo courtesy <PERSON>.
On August 10, 658,297 of Trinidad and Tobago's 1,134,155 registered voters cast their ballot in the country's general election.
According to the independent body charged with electoral management, the Elections and Boundaries Commission, the preliminary results showed that the incumbent People's National Movement (PNM) led by Prime Minister <PERSON> had won, with 22 parliamentary seats to the opposition United National Congress‘ (UNC) 19.
Despite the fact that voter turnout for both parties was lower than it had been for the last election in 2015, the PNM also clinched the popular vote.
Just as in 2015, the UNC is questioning the results. Since the preliminary results were announced, the UNC has called for recounts in five constituencies, as many have pointed out is well within its rights. The recount process began on August 11, the day after the election was held.
Five years ago, the party, then part of the People's Partnership coalition government, claimed that heavy rains, which caused flooding in some parts of the country, resulted in the PNM having an unfair advantage at the polls. They subsequently filed an election petition, challenging the outcome on those grounds; it proved unsuccessful.
This time around, the UNC has been accused of trying to plant seeds of doubt, before the voting process even got underway, as to whether the elections would be free and fair.
On Twitter, <PERSON> took umbrage with the UNC's approach:
I really take exception to the UNC’s implying that we did not run transparent elections. I have no problem requesting recounts but don’t impugn the integrity of the EBC plus thousands of volunteers, scrutineers (including their own) of every party present in yesterday’s process
— <PERSON> (@Panyol) August 11, 2020
The law dictates that the current government must stay in place throughout the recount process.
No international observers
One of the main points of contention is the fact that this election lacked the presence of international observers. 957
In a media interview, Prime Minister <PERSON> said that once the elections were called, he wrote to both the Commonwealth and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) secretariats, inviting them to send observers. However, unease over the COVID-19 pandemic reportedly came into play, as it has for many other countries holding elections at this time.
CARICOM was only able to attract the interest of three participants, who later declined because they wanted to avoid quarantine regulations. The government was “prepared to modify” its quarantine arrangements, but ultimately, CARICOM deemed that the process would require many more than three volunteers.
The Commonwealth observers, meanwhile, came up against financial constraints: Government assistance would have been a conflict of interest. The prime minister maintained there was no need to make his correspondence with the secretariats public [though he subsequently did], and does not believe that international observers would have prevented the UNC from making legal challenges.
How the tallying process works
On the evening of August 13, Minister of Finance <PERSON> hosted a press conference at the PNM party's headquarters, Balisier House, and clarified electoral procedures.
<PERSON> explained to local media that Form 69 — a Statement of Poll — basically served as “a record of observers.”
Every candidate who contests an election is entitled to have a polling agent present at every polling station to scrutinise the voting process. The presiding officer must sign Form 69, certify its accuracy and make sure that copies are given to polling officials and to each candidate or agent present at the count. These party representatives must also sign Form 69 to confirm that they witnessed the count and that the information is correct.
Parties knew results ‘at the same time’
Suggestions circulated on social media that the PNM declared victory while results were still coming in, but <PERSON> explained that party representatives call in to their respective campaign offices and give count results for their polling stations.
Via this method, Balisier House had the results for each of the country's 41 constituencies by 10 p.m. on election night and the PNM was, therefore, able to claim victory.
<PERSON> said that the opposition would have known the results at the same time and claimed it was “deceitful of UNC to pretend not to know […] on Monday night that they’d lost the election and the popular vote.” The notion that PNM had “inside information,” he said, is “absolute nonsense — it's a lie.”
‘Wild allegations’
Nevertheless, such claims persist. 892