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2019 Trinidadian local elections

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2019 Trinidadian local elections
← 2016 2 December 2019 2023 ⊟
All 14 Municipal Corporation Electoral Areas
Opinion polls
Turnout34.7% (Increase 0.2 pp)
 
Leader Keith Rowley Kamla Persad-Bissesar
Party PNM UNC
Leader since 26 May 2010 24 January 2010
Last election 83 councillors, 48.2%
8 municipal corporations 		54 councillors, 49.9%
6 municipal corporations
Popular vote 161,962
43.60%
 202,584
54.59%
Swing Decrease 4.76% Increase 4.48%
Municipal Corporations
7 / 14
7 / 14
Municipal Corporations  /– Decrease 1 Increase 1
Councillors
72 / 139
67 / 139
Councillors  /– Decrease11 Increase13
Map showing the 2019 Trinidadian local election results of the 14 corporations.

Local elections in Trinidad and Tobago were held on 2 December 2019,[1] contesting 139 electoral districts across Trinidad's 14 municipal corporation electoral areas.[2][3][4]

With the exception of those areas that have had boundary changes, the seats up for election were last contested in the 2016 local elections.

Both parties won control of seven of the 14 corporations with the People's National Movement (PNM) losing their minority control status in the Sangre Grande regional corporation. The PNM won 72 of the 139 electoral districts, but lost the popular vote and 11 electoral districts: Sangre Grande North West in the Sangre Grande regional corporation, Lengua/Indian Walk in the Princes Town Regional Corporation, Siparia West/Fyzabad in the Siparia Regional Corporation, Cocal/Mafeking in the Mayaro–Rio Claro Regional Corporation, Enterprise South/Longdenville North in the Chaguanas Borough Corporation, Caura/Paradise/Tacarigua in the Tunapuna–Piarco Regional Corporation, Les Effort West/La Romaine, Marabella West and Marabella West/Vistabella in the San Fernando City Corporation while gaining two from the United National Congress, in the San Juan–Laventille Regional Corporation, San Juan East and Barataria. The UNC also won the newly created districts of El Socorro/Aranguez North and La Fortune/Debe North, in the San Juan–Laventille and Penal–Debe Regional Corporation.

Seats held prior to the election

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The major political parties were defending the following numbers of electoral districts from municipal corporations on election day:

These numbers are how many seats each party had won at the previous election, in 2016, rather than which party held the seat on the eve of the election.

Eligibility to vote

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All registered electors (Trinidadians and Tobagonians, Commonwealth and Non-Commonwealth citizens) who will be aged 18 or over, resided legally in Trinidad and Tobago and have resided in an electoral district/constituency for a least two months prior to the election date are entitled to vote in the local elections.[5]

Parties and standings

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Political parties registered with the Elections and Boundaries Commission can contest the local elections. The following registered parties contested the local elections:

Party Founded Ideology Leader(s) Leader since Last election At dissolution Notes
% party vote Municipal Corporations Electoral districts Municipal Corporations Electoral districts
PNM 1955 Liberalism, Social liberalism, Moderate nationalism Keith Rowley May 2010
48.24%
8 / 14 (57%)
83 / 137 (61%)
8 / 14 (57%)
84 / 137 (61%)
UNC 1989 Democratic socialism, Social democracy, Third Way Kamla Persad-Bissessar January 2010
49.90%
6 / 14 (43%)
54 / 137 (39%)
6 / 14 (43%)
53 / 137 (39%)
 
COP 2006 Reformism Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan November 2017
0.50%
0 / 14 (0%)
0 / 137 (0%)
0 / 14 (0%)
0 / 137 (0%)
MSJ 2010 Social justice, Direct democracy David Abdulah January 2012
0.22%
0 / 14 (0%)
0 / 137 (0%)
0 / 14 (0%)
0 / 137 (0%)
PPM 2019 Localism Louis Lee Sing October 2019 – – – – –
MND 2019 (refounded) Diego Martin regionalism Garvin Nicholas September 2019 – – – – –
NTP 1995 Localism, Nationalism[6] Ursus Daniel[7] – – – – –

Campaign slogans

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Party Slogan
People's National Movement "We Getting it Done"[8]
"Doing it Right"[9]
United National Congress "Worknation"[10]

Opinion polls

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The North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) commissioned opinion polling for the next general election regularly sampling the electorates' opinions.

Municipal Corporation projections

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Date Pollster Sample
size 		PNM UNC Other
2 December 2019 Local Election results[11] – 7 7 0
29 November 2019 NACTA[12][13] – 7 ( 2) 5 ( 2) 0
21 November 2019 NACTA[14] – 8 ( 3) 3 ( 3) 0
11 April 2019 NACTA[15] – 7 ( 3) 5 ( 3) 0
16 July 2018 Barataria and Belmont East Local Government Bye-Elections

Summary results

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Elections were conducted under the first-past-the-post system.

Percentage of vote share

  PNM (43.5%)
  UNC (54.4%)
  Other (2.1%)
Elections And Boundaries Commission December 2, 2019 Local Election Preliminary Results
Trinidad and Tobago Express December 2, 2019 Local Election Preliminary Results Summary[16]
↓
7 7
PNM UNC
Party Votes Corporations Seats
PNM 161,962
43.5%
 Decrease 4.8%
7 / 14 (50%)
 Decrease 1
72 / 139 (52%)
 Decrease 9
UNC 202,584
54.4%
 Increase 4.5%
7 / 14 (50%)
 Increase 1
67 / 139 (48%)
 Increase 9

Results by municipal corporation electoral area

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Prior to election Post election
Municipal Corporation Seats Turnout Control PNM UNC Seats Turnout Control PNM UNC
Arima 7 31.87% PNM 7 0 7 33.29% PNM 6 1
Chaguanas 8 40.54% UNC 3 5 8 38.05% UNC 1 7
Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo 14 37.67% UNC 0 14 14 36.98% UNC 0 14
Diego Martin 10 21.80% PNM 10 0 10 23.73% PNM 10 0
Mayaro–Rio Claro 6 49.82% UNC 2 4 6 43.53% UNC 1 5
Penal–Debe 9 40.43% UNC 0 9 10 39.92% UNC 0 9
Point Fortin 6 34.91% PNM 6 0 6 34.74% PNM 6 0
Port of Spain 12 22.78% PNM 14 0 12 24.40% PNM 12 0
Princes Town 10 41.55% UNC 1 9 10 40.51% UNC 0 10
San Fernando 9 36.27% PNM 9 0 9 35.72% PNM 6 3
San Juan–Laventille 13 24.64% PNM 11 2 14 25.63% PNM 12 1
Sangre Grande 8 37.60% PNM (minority) 4 4 8 42.02% UNC 3 5
Siparia 9 41.82% UNC 4 5 9 41.92% UNC 3 6
Tunapuna–Piarco 16 32.66% PNM 12 4 16 34.28% PNM 11 5
All fourteen municipal corporations 137 34.34% 83 54 139 34.71% 72 65
Source: Report of the Elections and Boundaries Commission on the Local Government Elections held on Monday, December 2, 2019
Municipal Corporation Control Councillors
Total PNM UNC Other
Arima PNM 7 6 1
Chaguanas UNC 8 1 7
Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo UNC 14 0 14
Diego Martin PNM 10 10 0
Mayaro–Rio Claro UNC 6 1 5
Penal–Debe UNC 10 0 10
Point Fortin PNM 6 6 0
Port of Spain PNM 12 12 0
Princes Town UNC 10 0 10
San Fernando PNM 9 6 3
San Juan–Laventille PNM 14 12 2
Sangre Grande UNC 8 3 5
Siparia UNC 9 3 6
Tunapuna–Piarco PNM 16 11 5
Totals 139 71 68

Allocation of Aldermen

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Municipal Corporation Aldermen
Total PNM UNC Other
Arima 4 3 1
Chaguanas 4 1 3
Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo 4 1 3
Diego Martin 4 3 1
Mayaro–Rio Claro 4 1 3
Penal–Debe 4 0 4
Point Fortin 4 4 0
Port of Spain 4 4 0
Princes Town 4 1 3
San Fernando 4 6 3
San Juan–Laventille 4 3 1
Sangre Grande 4 2 2
Siparia 4 2 2
Tunapuna–Piarco 4 2 2
Totals 56 29 27

Results by party

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Party Party leader Candidates Councillors % of councillors Votes % of Votes
2016 2019 /- 2016 2019 /- 2016 2019 /- 2016 2019 /-
PNM Keith Rowley 139[17] 83 72 Decrease11 60.6% 51.8% Decrease8.8% 174,754 162,801 Decrease11,953 48.24% 43.60% Decrease4.6%
UNC Kamla Persad-Bissessar 139[18] 54 67 Increase13 39.4% 48.2% Increase8.8% 180,758 203,868 Increase23,110 49.90% 54.59% Increase4.7%
MSJ David Abdulah 28[19] 0 0 Steady 0.0% 0.0% Steady 790 2,608 Increase1,818 0.22% 0.70% Increase0.5%
PPM Louis Lee Sing 12[20] n/a 0 n/a n/a 0.0% n/a n/a 1,349 n/a n/a 0.36% n/a
COP Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan 8[21] 0 0 Steady 0.0% 0.0% Steady 1,803 899 Decrease904 0.50% 0.24% Decrease0.3%
MND Garvin Nicholas 4[22] n/a 0 n/a n/a 0.0% n/a n/a 403 n/a n/a 0.11% n/a
NTP Ursus Daniel[23] 1[24] n/a 0 n/a n/a 0.0% n/a n/a 11 n/a n/a 0.00% n/a
Independent N/A 8[25] 0 0 Steady 0.0% 0.0% Steady 1,071 521 550 0.30% 0.86% Decrease0.6%
Total 339[26] 137[27] 139 Increase2 100% 100% Steady 362,254 373,437 Increase11,183 100% 100% Steady
Electorate: 1,079,976 Total votes: 373,437 Turnout: 34.71%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/december-2-local-government-elections-6.2.959074.5e638c0aa6 Archived 2019-10-14 at the Wayback Machine PM reveals December 2 local gov't election date: Kamla ready to "meet and beat the PNM"
  2. ^ "Whither local government reform?". trinidadexpress.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  3. ^ "The PNM owed million$ to the bank, says Rowley". trinidadexpress.com. Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  4. ^ "'My team will lead TT into the future'". newsday.co.tt. Archived from the original on 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  5. ^ "Who is eligible to vote?". ttconnect.gov.tt. Archived from the original on 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  6. ^ "National Transformation party NTP". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  7. ^ "National Transformation party NTP". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Today's PNM 'doctor' bids for blessing of yesterday's". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Today's PNM 'doctor' bids for blessing of yesterday's". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Political theatre reality check". www.guardian.co.tt. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  11. ^ "PNM claims victory by virtue of winning more seats". www.guardian.co.tt. Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  12. ^ "NACTA poll: Close fight in Siparia for LGE". www.guardian.co.tt. Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  13. ^ "NACTA: Close fight in Siparia". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 2019-11-30. Archived from the original on 2019-12-22. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  14. ^ "NACTA: Unpredictable outcomes in marginals". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 2019-11-21. Archived from the original on 2019-11-22. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  15. ^ "NACTA: Cynical voters in TT". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 2019-04-12. Archived from the original on 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  16. ^ "UNC grabs Grande". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Archived from the original on 2019-12-24. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  17. ^ "339 vying for 2019 Local Government Elections | Trinidad and Tobago Government News". www.news.gov.tt. Archived from the original on 20 November 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  18. ^ "339 vying for 2019 Local Government Elections | Trinidad and Tobago Government News". www.news.gov.tt. Archived from the original on 20 November 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  19. ^ "MSJ fields 28 candidates but Abdulah not voting". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 1 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  20. ^ "Lee Sing says excitement building over his new party". www.guardian.co.tt. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  21. ^ "The Election Agents and Sub-agents for Candidates contesting the 2019 Local Government Elections | Elections And Boundaries Commission". Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  22. ^ "The Election Agents and Sub-agents for Candidates contesting the 2019 Local Government Elections | Elections And Boundaries Commission". Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  23. ^ "National Transformation party NTP". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  24. ^ "339 vying for 2019 Local Government Elections | Trinidad and Tobago Government News". www.news.gov.tt. Archived from the original on 20 November 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  25. ^ "339 vying for 2019 Local Government Elections | Trinidad and Tobago Government News". www.news.gov.tt. Archived from the original on 20 November 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  26. ^ "EBC: 339 candidates contesting Local Government Elections". www.looptt.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  27. ^ "BATTLE FOR 139 SEATS". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 2 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
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