Point Fortin candidates for the general election who filed their nomination papers on April 4 all expressed confidence that they will win at the polls on April 28.
There was a mixture of new and returning faces at the Patrick Gordon Building along the Southern Main Road.
Those returning included outgoing MP Kennedy Richards Jr for the PNM and Ernesto Kesar for the UNC, who contested under the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) in 2020.
Among the new faces to candidacy were Errol Fabien for the National Transformation Alliance (NTA) and Sheldon Khan for the All People’s Party (APP).
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Newsday spoke to Richards ahead of filing his nomination and he said he anticipated a quick process.
He said the PNM has done a lot for the constituency and he will continue to do so.
"I'm not too concerned about the competitors. I am campaigning on performance. I came here and I performed for the last four-and-a-half years."
All other candidates said the filing process went smoothly and commended the Election and Boundaries Commission (EBC).
However, they all said not enough is being done in the area, commenting on unemployment, bad roads and lack of performing arts spaces.
"I don't think it's a big task to unseat the PNM," Fabien said. But he added that he did not like how the PNM treated Richards Jr as he was not given any ministerial portfolios.
He said, "People in Point Fortin have been insulted, neglected, taken advantage of...You're not seeing smiling people in Point Fortin any more and I can change that."
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Kesar said the current government failed to deliver several promises, but that he was not going to engage in any tit-for-tat as "they know what they did not do."
And for Khan, he said he has been seeing a lot of road paving in the constituency since the election date was announced.
"Like all the time they didn't know the roads was (sic) (were) bad and does mash up your car."
There were scores of supporters in red, yellow and blue just outside the building, accompanied by loud music trucks and even moko jumbies. The groups of supporters interacted with each other but showed no animosity.
