Make internal self-government the critical issue of the THA elections

More than which party will take charge of the Tobago House of Assembly and which one is left to fill the role of the Minority after the 2026 Tobago House of Assembly Elections, the hope must be that working towards settling the constitutional relationship between the Central Government and the THA emerges as the most important issue in the campaign.

The contestations between the THA and the national Parliament, the latter led mostly by the Trinidad and Tobago People’s National Movement, have been ongoing since 1980, when the Assembly was established in its modern configuration. Then the likes of ANR Robinson and Dr Winston Murray, under the banner of the Democratic Action Congress, effectively called the THA into being, with the hope of working towards a settled two-island state. The expectation then was that the THA would be given the powers and resources to achieve the objective of Internal Self-Government for Tobago.

The demand for such autonomy by the smaller of the multi-island states is not unique to T&T; indeed, it has been preceded and followed by multi-island states such as St Kitts and Nevis and Anguilla, the latter having pulled away from the other islands. The continuing disagreement and conflict between Antigua and Barbuda, contention among the Dutch Caribbean ABC islands, Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao; and those in the Dutch Windward islands, Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius, and Saba are others.

And to indicate that it’s not the result of some peculiarly cussed nature of the Caribbean island-people, similar contests have gone on for even longer periods amongst the British Isles of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The current political relationship between the Central Government in Port-of-Spain and the THA in Scarborough is in a very transactional mode. The Tobago People’s Party, in charge of the THA, has brokered a relationship with the Government in Port-of-Spain. While not completely dependent on the two seats in Tobago, given its significant majority in Trinidad, the UNC also must be conscious of its other dependent relationship with the trade unions.

The UNC leadership must also consider that a previous association with the Tobago National Alliance for Reconstruction went asunder when the “One Love” business fell apart. The relationship with the PNM in power in both the Parliament and THA has held together as the party has always been an organic unit.

As indicated, there is no umbilical cord relationship between the administrations in Tobago and the Central Government in Trinidad, so both sides must be careful and committed.

The extremely satisfied reaction of the THA Chief Secretary, Farley Augustine, with the Budget allocation to Tobago and the recent visit of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to Tobago with the promise of even further benefits, bodes well for the union holding together electorally.

It is therefore a real opportunity for the TPP and the UNC to solidify their relationship and commitment to the objective of the required internal self-government for Tobago. In contradiction, the PNM will have to find instances of non-fulfilment of promises to drive a wedge between the two.

The hope is that the parties will focus on the issues which are important; the major one being laying the assured foundation for internal self government for Tobago.