THA must forge new ties with gov’t

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - The rout of the Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP) in Monday’s elections for the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) settles many questions. There is no doubt now where the sentiments of the people of Tobago lie. The rejection of Ashworth Jack, ousted from the Mason Hall/Providence/Moriah constituency seat he’d held for 16 years, was as much an endorsement of the PNM governance and campaign management as it was an electoral condemnation of the TOP and the very present People’s Partnership Government. The TOP will have to rethink its role as it seeks to find relevance in a PNM-dominated Assembly. The PNM—which, while it dominated the THA, is still the parliamentary opposition, and holds neither Tobago seat—should not be tempted to see this landslide win as a referendum on the ruling party.