Tobago Organisation (TOP) of the People leader Ashworth Jack gained only 39 per cent of the votes in his Providence/Mason Hall/Moriah seat during Monday's Tobago House of Assembly election. He was resoundingly beaten by the People's National Movement's (PNM) Sheldon Cunningham, who received 59 per cent of the votes, the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) confirmed yesterday.
All 12 PNM candidates have also been declared winners of their respective seats, since no party has called for a recount, an EBC official said in a telephone interview with the T&T Guardian. Preliminary results issued to the T&T Guardian showed the PNM received 61 per cent of the 32,651 votes cast in the election.
The preliminary results showed the PNM received 19,919 out of the 32,651 votes cast while TOP received 11,927 and The Platform for Truth (TPT) received 675 votes. Orville London, the PNM Tobago leader, retained his Scarborough/Calder Hall seat with 67 per cent of the votes cast, while TOP received 31 per cent and TPT two per cent.
There were 130 rejected votes. More than 70 per cent of the 46,601 eligible voters turned out in Monday's election.