Her victory over former prime minister, veteran politician Basdeo Panday for the leadership of her Party the United National Congress (UNC), might have served as a warning to Manning that she was determined to take on the establishment and take it down. The new prime minister, in her victory speech at Rienzi Complex in Central Trinidad on Monday night said, “As prime minister-elect of our great republic of Trinidad and Tobago, let me say how overwhelmed I am, humbled to deliver the government of Trinidad and Tobago to you,” to a throng of cheering supporters. She extended the olive branch to PNM supporters and accepted the strong mandate saying “my cup is full and runneth over”.
She told the people of Trinidad and Tobago, “Today you have given me your hand in trust and today I am deeply humbled by the trust you have placed in me. I accept it with deep gratitude.”
While the coalition held firm to their Opposition seats and took borderline constituencies, they also captured traditional PNM strongholds like D’abadie/O’Meara, Arima and Toco/Sangre Grande almost sending the PNM into obscurity.
Amidst rising unpopularity at home, Manning put his position on the line by calling the election two and a half years before it was constitutionally due in the hope of offering a new mandate to the people. To his detriment, the people spoke for Persad-Bissessar.
Now with a two-thirds majority in the 41-seat parliament, the coalition government will have to move quickly to assure the people that they made the right choice.
With a promise to be inclusive of Tobago, Persad-Bissessar said, “No one would be left out, no one will be left behind and we will all rise.”
She also alluded to the deep seated racial divide in the twin-island republic, promising an end to divisive politics. She said, “Every creed and race will find an equal space and place”.
Persad-Bissessar promised that she will construct a capable and competent cabinet “without fear or favor” for the ultimate goal of improving every aspect of life in the oil-rich country.
Manning in his concession speech expressed shock at the defeat, but said “I take full responsibility for the results... we have lost and we concede”.
Persad-Bissessar now joins the late Dame Eugenia Charles of Dominica, Janet Jagan of Guyana and Portia Simpson Miller of Jamaica who made history in their own countries as the first female to hold the highest government office.
Here in the Diaspora, Trinidadians are celebrating the historic moment. According to attorney Lisa Colon-Heron, “You can’t take away from the historic event that happened yesterday [Monday]. It’s a huge, huge victory for the country moving forward.” She added that the people had a very clear mandate, citing that “the most surprising thing of the results was the PNM losing Tobago east and Tobago west.”
She said Persad-Bissessar “slew two lions – Panday and now Manning.
“I don’t think anybody saw the landslide coming. Now we get to see how this coalition government is going to work.”
