Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley Hosts Media Conference From Tobago - Wednesday March 3rd 2021

Key Points from Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley’s Media Conference in Tobago – Wednesday March 3rd, 2021. Tobagonians are expected to go back to the polls later this year. Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley made the announcement following today’s meeting with the 12 elected Assemblymen to resolve the 6-6 deadlock arising out of the Tobago House of Assembly election on January 25th. The Prime Minister said the general sentiment of the 12 elected Assemblymen is that they can come together to elect/select persons in order to have a functioning Tobago House of Assembly, until such time the Joint Select Committee has completed its work on the Tobago Autonomy Bill. PM Rowley says he has confidence that the 12 Assemblymen can work together in the interim. Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley said it would have been a dereliction of duty if he did not treat with the deadlock, which essentially stalled the Assembly’s functioning. He reminded that he earlier sought legal advice (Senior Counsel) on the situation in Tobago, and noted that Government did not do anything to block any possible court matter arising out of the deadlock. Noting that Tobago House of Assembly Amendment Bill 2021 was passed in the Senate late last night, PM Rowley said as leader of the country, he led his team in the Parliament to amend the law. This Bill proposes to increase the number of Electoral Districts in the THA from 12 to 15 among other things. Prime Minister Rowley said the PNM has no fear of election defeat. He said the party revels in its successes, and expects to do well in every election. He said the party also has the resilience to accept defeat, if and when it comes. On the reopening of T&T borders, PM Rowley says this all depends on the population, and those in other countries, being sufficiently inoculated to allow free movement and a decrease in cases. The PM says T&T is well on track to receiving COVID-19 vaccines. However, he said the Government will prohibit any vaccine that is not WHO-approved for use in T&T.