PM moves for THA election after autonomy bill stalls
15 Hrs Ago
THE PLAN: Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley speaks to the media at Thursday s post-Cabinet news conference at the Prime Minister s Residence in Blenheim, Tobago. - OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER
The Prime Minister laid out, on Thursday, the steps to be taken, starting from Monday, to pave the way for a fresh Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election with 15 seats in order to break the current six-six deadlock between the PNM and the PDP.
Dr Rowley said the Cabinet has approved the proclamation of the THA (Amendment) Act which was passed in the Parliament and assented to by the President on March 16. The proclamation by President Paula-Mae Weekes is scheduled for Monday.
Davidson-Celestine: PDP can t give anything, law favours PNM newsday.co.tt - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newsday.co.tt Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tracy on zipline: I was excited to expand tourism
PNM Tobago Council leader Tracy Davidson-Celestine
Political leader of the PNM Tobago Council Tracy Davidson-Celestine is maintaining her innocence in the controversial zipline matter.
In 2015, the Division of Tourism and Transportation announced the1.5-kilometre zipline project while she was secretary, but it was never completed.
Speaking on Tobago Channel Five’s morning programme, Rise and Shine, on Monday, Davidson-Celestine said she had been excited about the project, because it would “expand the tourism product offering on the island, and so I did what every secretary would do to get the approval in order to expend that kind of sum.”
Daly Bread: Topic, topic, topic THA ‘fix’, police killings and Covid-19 vaccines
When Trinidad and Tobago is boiling over with trouble and nonsense, as it is currently, my Freeport compere says to me ‘topic, topic, topic’.
So where to focus this week’s column? Should I comment further on the Tobago House of Assembly (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to break the six-six electoral deadlock in Tobago?
Photo: Political leader of PNM Tobago Council Tracy Davidson-Celestine.
(via looptt.com)
This legislation is probably constitutionally improper because it is driven by a conflict of interest on the part of the PNM majority in the House of Representatives who supported it.
Dr Rowley: ‘The most efficient and viable solution for Tobago’; THA to get 15 districts
“In the forty year history of the Tobago House of Assembly, there has never been an even share of seats to respective political parties resulting in such a deadlocked election result in Tobago.
“Further, given that the number of electoral districts is an even one there is the real possibility of the reoccurrence of such a deadlocked result if a fresh poll is taken with the existing twelve electoral districts in the island of Tobago.
“In this regard, it has been advised that the Act be amended to increase the number of electoral districts to an odd number which will lessen the likelihood of a possible recurrence of a deadlocked result…”