Gender is irrelevant when choosing a leader to carry the country forward.
T&T needs a leader who can transcend all bounds and get the people of T&T to develop national pride.
These are some of the views of political analyst Derek Ramsamooj, and attorney Gillian Lucky, who describes herself as a national activist.
T&T always has been led by men, save for the few instances where women were given brief stints, some critics say acts of tokenism, when they acted as prime minister during the period 2000 and 2002.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar created history in September, 2000, when she became the first woman to act as prime minister.
It was under the leadership of the UNC's Basdeo Panday, and in his absence, that Persad-Bissessar got her first acting stint.
Two months later, the UNC again elevated another woman–Daphne Phillips–to the post of acting PM in the absence of Panday.
Persad-Bissessar once again took centre stage as an acting PM in August, 2001.
This prompted a bitter comment from then deputy political leader of the UNC, Ramesh Lawrence-Maharaj, who said women "must not be satisfied with equality based on tokenism."
PNM followed suit in July, 2002, when Prime Minister Patrick Manning put Joan Yuille-Williams, then Community Development Minister, the first woman to act as PM.
A bid by supporters to have Persad-Bissessar elevated to the post of leader of the UNC-A in time to fight the December, 2007, general election was thwarted, and her male counterparts were elevated to deputy leader posts in front of her, while she was given the "token" position of head of the women's contingent of the UNC-A.
This left a lot of supporters deflated and hurt.
A somewhat dejected and emotional Persad-Bissessar, at a rally for the party on October 7, 2007, at Mid-Centre Mall, Chaguanas, said to her detractors: "I want to tell all my political enemies, close to me and far away, that Kamla Persad-Bissessar is a woman who gets knocked down, but she gets up again."
Better managers
According to Ramsamooj, "What matters is having an individual who possesses leadership skills; someone who can find practical solutions to the daily challenges that affect the average family."
Lucky, an attorney, said: "What we need is a vibrant leader who is prepared to put country first.
"I rather focus on characteristics that an individual must have to be leader of this country."
Lynette Seebaran Suite, chairman of the Advocates for Safe Parenthood: Improving Reproductive Equity also focused on character.
On whether a woman could take T&T forward successfully, she said: "It depends on the woman...There are many competent women."
She added: "A leader needs to have a progressive vision and experience, be competent, and have a track record of caring and service."
Differing from the others was the national representative for the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action, Tara Ramoutar.
Ramoutar believes that a woman can carry T&T forward.
"Women are better managers, in the sense that they stick to the issues," she said adding: "Economic-wise, they are able to balance the family's budget and they spend money more wisely."
However, Ramoutar added. "Because key players in government are men, it depends on how much influence she has in swaying them to her side."
–reporting by Malissa Lara