By Lindsay Mackoon, Freelance Writer
Panday and Manning
YESTERDAY'S GENERAL election in Trinidad and Tobago has produced a tie, with the two main political parties winning 18 seats each in the 36-seat Parliament.
Basdeo Panday told thousand of cheering supporters last night at his party's headquarters in Central Trinidad that under the laws of the twin-island republic, the President, A.N.R. Robinson, must invite the incumbent Prime Minister to form a new Govern-ment.
This means that Panday's United National Congress (UNC) is expected to remain in Government for another five years. The leader of the opposition People's National Movement (PNM) Patrick Manning could not be reached for comment at press time last night.
In the meantime, candidates and voters of both the governing and opposition parties reported serious flaws in the conduct of yesterday's election.
With most of the polling stations officially closed at 6 p.m., the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC) was being accused of failure to explain why hundreds of voters in some constituencies, were not on the final published electoral lists.
Among those making complaints were the United National Congress (UNC) candidate and Attorney-General Kamla Persad-Bissessar and deputy leader of the main opposition People's National Movement (PNM) Ken Valley, as well as incumbent Foreign Minister Mervyn Assam and his rival in the Tunapuna constituency, PNM' s Eddie Hart.
An official of the EBC explained that some of the complaints were investigated and resolved, but ruled out any suggestion of "significant flaws to materially affect the results of the election".
Team Unity's first venture in national elections proved a dismal failure. Political leader Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj conceded defeat very early but said his party will be mobilised into a powerful force.
"It is not the end but just the beginning," he told hundreds of weeping supporters. A high voter turnout was reported, although there was widespread reports of eligible voters being denied the opportunity to cast ballots.
Last night, as the results poured in, supporters of the UNC were assembling at party headquarters, Rienzi Complex in Couva, Central Trinidad, preparing to celebrate a possible renewed mandate, the second within a year.
Earlier in the day, there were reports of several glitches and the firebombing of a candidate's office. Early voting was also characterised by a slow turnout but the momentum picked up during the course of the day and towards the 6 p.m. deadline, long lines were seen outside many polling stations.
There were complaints by thousands of voters in various districts, especially in the Tunapuna, that they were not permitted to vote because their names were not on the voters lists even though they were in possession of polling cards issued by the Elections and Boundaries Commission. More than 200 people converged on one polling station demanding to cast ballots, claiming their names were left off of the list.
Chief elections officer Howard Cayenne had given the assurance the elections would be free and fair. Apart from the complaints by voters as well as by candidates, the process took place without any major incident, one official said.
The office of UNC candidate Dr. Vincente Lasse was bombed early yesterday morning. But Dr. Lasse, the candidate contesting the Point Fortin district in Southwest Trinidad, said he was undaunted and was committed to serving the people. Early morning rains in several parts of the country did not affect the turnout of the nearly 900,000 voters.
