Voters in Trinidad and Tobago go to the polls

Polls opened in Trinidad and Tobago Monday where voters in the oil-rich, twin-island nation will decide whether to give Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s ruling coalition government another five-year term or bring back the opposition.

Pollsters and some political observers have said the election is too tight to call, despite allegations of corruption in the ruling government and dissatisfaction over Persad-Bissessar’s leadership. Since she assumed office in May 2010, 26 government officials either resigned or were dismissed.

“We will not know until the results if it was in fact too close to call,” said Martin G. Daly, a Trinidad and Tobago attorney who writes a political column and blog.

Among the major issues in the elections: corruption, violent crime, education, the economy and falling energy prices. The country is dependent on oil and gas reserves, and the low prices of oil will impact its budget. The next government will have some tough decisions to make including which state-funded programs to keep, and which to end due to the falling oil prices.

Two parties dominate the elections: United National Congress,or UNC, led by Persad-Bissessar, and the People’s National Movement, or PNM, led by Keith Rowley. A third party, the Independent Liberal Party, is led by scandal-scarred ex-FIFA Vice-President Jack Warner, who is facing extradition to the United States on corruption charges.

Warner, who was once a major financial supporter of the UNC and is credited with Persad-Bissessar’s political rise, formed his own party two years ago after he was booted from the ruling government amid reports of an FBI probe and corruption allegations involving international soccer. He regained his parliamentary seat in a landslide, and is now running for the Chaguanas East seat in the central region.

Daly said it has been difficult to predict the outcome of the general elections for 41 seats in Parliament because the race has turned into a presidential contest. The ruling partnership has demonized Rowley while painting Persad-Bissessar as a “protective shield over all the erroneous acts and omissions of governance that would have gotten any government thrown out.”

“They are asking voters to forget about all,” he said.

A deciding factor in some of the hotly contested constituencies will be voters who belong to the Congress of the People party, which has fallen apart in recent years.

“It’s hard to say what the COP-type of voter will do; whether he or she will fall for Kamla’s seduction or as we say here in Trinidad and Tobago, ‘hold their nose and vote for Rowley.’ It’s hard to tell,” Daly said.

Daly, who voted in the morning, said there appeared to be a steady stream of voters.Polls, which opened at 6 a.m., close at 6 p.m.

A 12-member team from the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, which Trinidad is a member of, is in the country to observe the vote. The team is headed by Jamaica’s Director of Elections Orette Fisher.

The group will monitor voting in at least 20 of the 41 constituencies, Fisher said in a statement.

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