THE EDITOR: The landslide vote of 15,000 plus in the 14-1 meltdown that the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) amassed in the December 6 historic Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections is an unmistakably overriding vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Rowley.
He was the chief protagonist in the Tobago campaign as well as the architect of the aborted autonomy bills that incited the wrath of Tobagonians by non-passage. These bills were woefully short in details on what Tobago demanded as autonomy for their island government.
His modus operandi was also rejected by the Tobago electorate as indicated by Chief Secretary Farley Augustine in his lucid and articulate victory statement.
He also dominated and crafted the PNM's negative air war hatched in and funded by Trinidad that Tobago not only rejected but it evoked a tribal cohesiveness/ground response similar to the 2013 result.
Accordingly, this outright rejection of Rowley by his own politically indigenous Tobago constituency has the following implications:
* The real prospects of the loss of the critical two balance-of -power Tobago seats to the PDP now held by the PNM.
*The backfiring, anger and revolt from the deliberately stage-managed stalemate of the two aborted autonomy bills now in suspended animation in the committee of the whole and facing extinction.
* The complete misunderstanding of the underground political rumblings/mood/psyche of Tobagonians in the elections from whence he came that even the pollsters could not detect.
* The consequent 14-1 meltdown.
* His own unforced but ineffective introduction into the campaign of the issue of integrity in public life relating to the Inez scandal.
* The widespread practice of corruption and nepotism surgically rejected by the Tobago electorate.
These constitute adequate, effective and compelling grounds and reasons for Rowley to offer his resignation to Balisier House. He must seek a new leadership mandate or indeed call the general election now because the chips are stacked against him in both islands of the unitary state.
STEPHEN KANGAL
Caroni
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