Once again, our political analysts who make emphatic pronouncements based on no facts and no historical data have got it all wrong.
This happens election after election, yet they seem to have no remorse or shame about getting their facts completely wrong.
In the first instance, the turnout in this year's local government election was not 12 per cent or 15 per cent or 17 per cent, as so many of these commentators have declared.
It was closer to 35 per cent, which, statistically, is the normal turnout for a local government election one year after a general election.
There was nothing strange about the voter turnout in 2016, therefore.
Most importantly, the PNM's share of the total votes cast increased from 42 per cent in the 2013 local election to 49 per cent in 2016, which was a significant improvement. The PNM also won 81 out of 137 seats, or 60 per cent of the seats at stake, in a straight fight with the UNC.
In addition, while the PNM's overall vote count was reduced by about 15,000 votes, or eight per cent, when compared to 2013, the other parties' combined total dropped by 80,000 votes, or 31 per cent, when compared to 2013.
In Sangre Grande, in particular, the PNM's total votes increased over the 2013 number, from 10,000 to 10,600, while the combined total of the other parties was reduced by 29 per cent, from 14,600 to 10,400, dropping by 4,200 votes.
These are just some examples of how wrong the analysts are, for yet another time.
Colm Imbert
Diego Martin North/East MP