Tobago Council of the People's National Movement

Summary

The Tobago Council of the People's National Movement,[14] also known as the Tobago Council of the PNM, PNM Tobago or PNM Tobago Council, is the longest-serving and oldest active political party in Tobago.[15] The party is the autonomous branch of the Trinidad and Tobago People's National Movement operating in Tobago. While its political leader acts in the local capacity, they also serve as a deputy leader on a national level. The party's executives organize for both local and national election campaigns. There have been three PNM Chief Secretaries and administrations.

Tobago Council of the People's National Movement
AbbreviationPNM
LeaderAncil Dennis
ChairpersonLearie Paul
SecretaryAkissi London
Leader in House of AssemblyKelvon Morris
(Minority Leader)
Founded1998; 26 years ago (1998)
HeadquartersPNM Tobago Council Office
Robinson Street
Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago
NewspaperMAGNUM
Youth wingPNM Tobago East Youth League
PNM Tobago West Youth League
Women's wingPNM Tobago East Women's League
PNM Tobago West Women's League
Membership (2020)10,000[1]
IdeologyLiberalism[2][3]
Social liberalism[4]
Nationalism
Centralization
Political positionCentre[5][6] to
centre-left [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]
National affiliationPeople's National Movement
Regional affiliationWest Indies Federal Labour Party (1957–1962)
Colors Red
Senate
3 / 31
(19 August 2020 – present)
House of Representatives (Tobagonian seats)
2 / 2
(7 September 2015 – present)
Tobago House of Assembly
1 / 15
(6 December 2021 – present)
Election symbol

Balisier flower
Website
pnmtt.live/arm/tobago-council/

Founded in 1998,[16] it is the largest and most successful political party in modern Tobagonian politics. With the exception of 2010, the party has won the biggest share of the vote at the Trinidad and Tobago general elections since 2000 and has governed the Tobago House of Assembly uninterruptedly, winning every Tobago House of Assembly election from 2001 until 2021.

The Tobago PNM currently hold 2 of 2 Tobagonian seats in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament and 1 of 15 seats in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA). Former Chief Secretary Ancil Dennis is the current and youngest political leader of the PNM after being elected unopposed in the 2020 People's National Movement Tobago leadership election with Kelvon Morris, the party's lone elected assemblymember serving as the party's leader in the THA.

With its predecessor organizations and despite not being a socialist party, it was a member of the democratic socialist West Indies Federal Labour Party in the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation from 1957 to 1962, winning the Tobago seat in the 1958 elections.

As of January 2020, the party has roughly 10,000 registered members.[17]

Elected representatives (current) edit

Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago edit

Members of the House of Representatives since the 7 September 2015 general election:

Member of Parliament Constituency First Elected
  Ayanna Webster-Roy Tobago East 7 September 2015
  Shamfa Cudjoe Tobago West 7 September 2015

Members of the Senate edit

Member of Parliament Appointed
  Laurence Hislop[18] 22 March 2022
  Nigel de Freitas[19] 23 September 2015
  Hassel Bacchus[20] 19 August 2020

Tobago House of Assembly edit

Member of the Tobago House of Assembly Electoral District
  Kelvon Morris Darrel Spring/Whim

Notable party members edit

Member Position
A. N. R. Robinson Member of Parliament for Tobago East (1961-1976)
Keith Rowley Candidate for Tobago West (1981)
Tracy Davidson-Celestine First female political leader (2020–2022)

Assemblymember for Lambeau/Signal Hill (2021)

Electoral performance edit

West Indies edit

Election Party Group Leader Votes Seats Position Government
No. Share No. Share
1958[21] WIFLP Eric Williams

(National party leader)

6,626 62.2%
1 / 1
100.0% 1st WIFLP

Trinidad and Tobago general elections edit

 
Red indicates the seats won by the PNM at the 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election.
Election[22] Party leader Votes Seats Position Government
No. % ± No. ±
1956 Eric Williams

(National party leader)

5,529 47.54%
0 / 1
  2nd PNM
1961 8,208 68.67%   21.13
2 / 2
  2   1st PNM
1966 ? ? ?
2 / 2
    1st PNM
1971 2,675 90.65% ?
2 / 2
    1st PNM
1976 5,933 42.41%   48.24
0 / 2
  2   2nd PNM
1981 George Chambers

(National party leader)

7,503 42.66%   0.25
0 / 2
    2nd PNM
1986 6,357 31.90%   10.76
0 / 2
    2nd NAR
1991 Patrick Manning

(National party leader)

5,622 30.08%   1.82
0 / 2
    2nd PNM
1995 6,949 36.80%   6.72
0 / 2
    2nd UNCNAR
2000 Orville London 8,672 47.46%   10.66
1 / 2
  1   Tie UNC
2001 11,225 61.38%   13.92
2 / 2
  1   1st PNM Minority
2002 13,432 65.75%   4.37
2 / 2
    1st PNM
2007 12,534 55.26%   10.49
2 / 2
    1st PNM
2010 12,305 44.09%   11.17
0 / 2
  2   2nd PP
2015 18,560 74.34%   30.25
2 / 2
  2   1st PNM
2020 Tracy Davidson-Celestine 16,402 60.76%   13.58
2 / 2
    1st PNM

Tobago County Council edit

Election[23] Leaders Votes Seats Position Control
No. % ± No. ±
1959 Eric Williams

(National party leader)

8,285 53.4  
11 / 14
  1st PNM
1968[24] ? ? ?
10 / 11
 1   1st PNM
1971 N/A N/A N/A
11 / 11
 1   1st PNM
1977 6,326 52.6 N/A
7 / 11
 4   1st PNM

Tobago House of Assembly edit

 
Red indicates seats won by the PNM in the 2017 Tobago House of Assembly election.
Election[23] Leaders Votes Seats Position Government
No. % ± No. ±
1980 Eric Williams

(National party leader)

7,097 44.4
4 / 12
2nd DAC
1984 George Chambers

(National party leader)

8,200 41.4  3.0
1 / 12
 3   2nd DAC
1988 Patrick Manning

(National party leader)

5,977 35.8  5.6
1 / 12
    2nd DAC
1992 6,555 36.7  0.9
1 / 12
    2nd NAR
1996 5,023 33.6  4.1
1 / 12
    2nd NAR
2001 Orville London 10,500 46.7  13.3
8 / 12
 7  1st PNM
2005 12,137 58.4  11.7
11 / 12
 3   1st PNM
2009 12,311 51.2  7.2
8 / 12
 3   1st PNM
2013 19,976 61.2  10.0
12 / 12
 4   1st PNM
2017 Kelvin Charles 13,310 54.7  6.5
10 / 12
 2   1st PNM
January 2021 Tracy Davidson-Celestine 13,288 50.4  4.3
6 / 12
 4   1st Caretaker
December 2021 11,943* 40.8*  9.6*
1 / 15
 5   2nd PDP

Leaders edit

The leaders of the People's National Movement Tobago Council who additionally serve as deputy leaders of the party nationally have been as follows (any acting leaders indicated in italics):

Key:   PNM   PDP MaL: Majority Leader MiL: Minority Leader

Leader Term Position Chief Secretary
1 Orville London   2001 3 July 2016 MaL 20012017 himself
2 Kelvin Charles   3 July 2016 26 January 2020 MaL 2017–2020 himself
3 Tracy Davidson-Celestine   26 January 2020

(Elected)

1 May 2022 None Kelvin Charles
Ancil Dennis
Augustine
4 Ancil Dennis   1 May 2022

(Elected)

None Augustine

Executive positions edit

These are the positions currently held by the Executive of the PNM Tobago Council:[25]

Position Officeholder
Political Leader Ancil Dennis
Chairperson Learie Paul
Vice-Chairperson Charles Adams
Lady Vice-Chairperson Kamaria London
General Secretary Akissi London
Election Officer Kurt Wilson
Public Relations Officer Shomari Hector
Operations Officer Ancil Thorne
Field Officer Pete Gray
Labour Relations Officer Kenneth Thomas
Welfare Officer Latoya Horsford
Social Media Officer Monique Perreira
Youth Officer Quincy Trim
Assistant General Secretary Keston Williams
Research Officer Aisha McKnight
Education Officer Gerald Brown
Treasurer Maxslon Roberts

External links edit

  • Official website
  • Facebook page
  • Facebook group
  • Instagram account
  • Tobago Council website (defunct)

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ "10,000 to vote in Tobago PNM election". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 18 January 2020. Archived from the original on 11 March 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. ^ Lowenthal, David; Comitas, Lambros, eds. (1973). The Aftermath of Sovereignty: West Indian Perspectives (PDF). Anchor Books. p. 134. ISBN 978-0385043045. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  3. ^ Griffith, Ivelaw L. (1993). The quest for security in the Caribbean : problems and promises in subordinate states. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-1-56324-089-8. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Caribbean Elections | People's National Movement". caribbeanelections.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  5. ^ Derbyshire, J. Denis; Derbyshire, Ian (2016). Encyclopedia of World Political Systems. Routledge. p. 322. ISBN 9781317471561. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  6. ^ Encyclopedia of world political systems. Sharpe Reference. 15 April 2016. ISBN 978-1-317-47156-1. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Labour leader Jacinda Ardern not the only one wanting to 'do this'". NZ Herald. 4 August 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Let's do this: Everyone else who has used Labour's new slogan". Stuff. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Private Wealth Market Brief" (PDF). Guardian Group. Guardian Group. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Trinidad and Tobago Economy". Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Economic Outline of Trinidad and Tobago – Bank of Scotland International Trade Portal". bankofscotlandtrade.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Trinidad and Tobago / Wirtschaftsanalysen – Coface". coface.at. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  13. ^ Skard, Torild (2015). Women of Power: Half a Century of Female Presidents and Prime Ministers Worldwide. Policy Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-1-4473-1580-3. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  14. ^ "THE TOBAGO COUNCIL OF THE PNM (@pnmtobago) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  15. ^ "BTI 2020 Trinidad and Tobago Country Report". BTI Blog. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  16. ^ "PNM Shares More Tributes to Manning". www.guardian.co.tt. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  17. ^ "10,000 to vote in Tobago PNM election". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 18 January 2020. Archived from the original on 11 March 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  18. ^ "Hislop ready to serve country as a senator". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 16 March 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Senate to debate THA Bill on March 2". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 22 February 2021. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  20. ^ "Congratulations to Senator the Honourable Hassel Bacchusthe". Facebook. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  21. ^ "Report on the Election of Members to the Federal House of Representatives from the Territory of T&T 1958 (25th March 1958) | Elections And Boundaries Commission". Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Publications and Reports | Elections And Boundaries Commission". Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  23. ^ a b "Publications and Reports | Elections And Boundaries Commission". Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  24. ^ Meighoo, Kirk (1 January 2001). ""Voting trends point to stalemate", Sunday Guardian, February 4, 2001, p.14". Sunday Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  25. ^ "Ancil Dennis elected Political Leader of the PNM Tobago Council". 103FM: First, Finest, Forever. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.