THE PNM has held discussions with the team of Caricom election observers who are in Trinidad and Tobago for the April 28 general election.
The meeting took place at the party's Balisier House headquarters in Port of Spain on April 25.
In a news release on April 25, the PNM said party leader Dr Keith Rowley led the PNM delegation who met with the Caricom observers.
PNM deputy leader Colm Imbert, lady vice-chair Camille Robinson-Regis, Fitzgerald Hinds, Indar Parasram and Taharqa Obika were other members of the delegation.
The party said this meeting happened after a meeting between Prime Minister Stuart Young and the Caricom observers earlier in the week.
Discussions between the PNM and the Caricom observers focused on the electoral process in TT.
Current matters, prevailing circumstances and confidence in observer missions were also discussed in the meeting.
The PNM reaffirmed its commitment to the democratic process and free and fair elections in TT.
While he was prime minister, Rowley wrote to Caricom on December 10, 2024, to request the presence of a Caricom electoral observer mission for the election.
Caricom Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett replied on January 13, confirming it was prepared to undertake the necessary administrative arrangements for the Caricom observer mission.
Rowley resigned as prime minister on March 16 and Young officially succeeded him one day later.
On March 18, Young advised President Christine Kangaloo to dissolve the Parliament and announced April 28 as election day.
On March 19, Young wrote to then secretary general Baroness Patricia Scotland to request the presence of a Commonwealth electoral observer mission.
Scotland replied on March 25, that arrangements would be made to deploy a mission.
Young wrote to the Carter Centre on March 25, to invite the group to send an observer mission.
The centre subsequently indicated it was unable to send one.
Young confirmed all of these details at a news conference at Whitehall last month.
He noted previous letters from Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to Rowley and himself for observers.
Young said the sequence of correspondence to Caricom, the Commonwealth and Carter Centre dispels any claims from the UNC that the election would not be free and fair.
On April 23, PNM public relations officer Faris Al-Rawi was not surprised the UNC made complaints about the integrity of the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) when it met with them earlier in the week.
In a statement, the UNC said the observers were told about alleged irregularities with respect to voting for special electors in the election."
"What we have witnessed since the start of the election season are a series of curious events and irregularities which are concentrated in marginal constituencies. These missteps by the EBC can be characterised as either incompetence or actuated by bias or perhaps even both. In any event, the failure of the EBC to train its officials properly has resulted in much inconvenience to the UNC’s election campaign."
Al-Rawi said, "I noticed these garbled, nebulous statements about all sorts of foolish things. I'm no stranger to the UNC allegations."
He added, "I have fought many an election petition. I have been involved in one as a litigant and succeeded."
After the August 2020 election, the UNC filed election petitions against the PNM, questioning the results in several marginal constituencies, including San Fernando West.
Al-Rawi has been San Fernando West MP since September 7, 2015 and is standing for re-election there on April 28.
All of the UNC's petitions were dismissed.
Al-Rawi said, "I am familiar with the UNC tactics – ramble, allege, gallery. There is no way that somebody could impugn our EBC."
He added this a sign of growing desperation in the UNC's ranks ahead of the election.
