PM screens nominees for Tobago seats

THE PNM were screening nominees for the Tobago East and Tobago West seats, up to press time on Sunday evening. News of the screening were confirmed by the party’s general secretary Foster Cummings.

He confirmed reports that Tobago West MP Shamfa Cudjoe is the sole nominee for that constituency. However, Tobago East MP Ayanna Webster-Roy will face a rival, reported elsewhere as being veterinarian Dr Kern Johnson. Cummings said the screenings will be done by a screening committee chaired by Prime Minister Dr Rowley.

“The PNM Constitution says the Prime Minister and a couple of senior members must join the Tobago Council team to do the screening.”

Cummings said the screening committee in Tobago will be comprised of Dr Rowley, Camille Robinson-Regis, Joan Yuille-Williams, Cummings, and the Tobago Council members led by Tracey Davidson-Celestine. Asked by when results from the Tobago screenings will be known, Cummings said, “We’ll decide by Monday, probably.”

Cummings said last Thursday, that the PNM will screen for Naparima, Lopinot/Bon Air West and La Brea. The party had screened some nominees for the two latter seats last week including former minister Alicia Hospedales for Lopinot/Bon Air West, plus former public utilities minister Robert Le Hunte and former energy minister Nicole Olivierre for La Brea.

However, the screening committee had instructed the Lopinot/Bon Air West and La Brea PNM constituency executives to widen their search for fresh nominees. Cummings said there was no truth to media/social media claims that the Arima seat would be screened on Monday.

UNC PRO Anita Haynes said the party will continue screening this week. “The screening committee meets this week, I think on Monday and Tuesday. We have just about 19 more seats to screen for to date. So I think we will finish within the week.”

Haynes said that due to restrictions on gatherings due to the covid19 the UNC has not publicly announced any venue for screening. “We don’t want nominees bringing lots of people along with them. Before covid19 it was like millions of people would turn up.” Many nominees walked with tassa groups, she noted.

“Now however when you are a nominee, you will get a call telling you where the screening will take place, you turn up and you are screened.”