Over the past six days, measured between Saturday and yesterday, the spending between the two major political parties on traditional media advertising has been approximately $5 million with the People's Partnership (PP) outspending the People's National Movement (PNM) at a ratio of six to one.
While the PP has been spending millions of dollars a week on advertising in traditional media, the PNM has been taking a more modest approach.
Even so, political analysts say the amount of money a party spends was not an accurate measurement of its support.
In print and television advertisements on prime time and in newspapers alone, the People's Partnership amounted to over $3 million spent in six days, while the PNM's advertising amounted to less than half that amount, according to calculations of ads books and tabulated by the T&T Guardian.
The People's Partnership placed over 100 advertisements in the three main daily newspapers–Express, Guardian and Newsday–since last Saturday while the PNM placed 17 during that same period.
On local television stations during prime-time–between 7 pm and 9 pm–political commercials from the ruling party have reached the double digits at a cost of around $10,000 for a 300-second spots.
The PNM has also been doing live broadcasts of political rallies on local radio stations.
The People's Partnership has been broadcasting its political rallies live on television.
But is it a case of who spends the most gets the most votes?
Political analysts Maukesh Basdeo and Winsford James said no.
Yesterday both described the spending by the incumbent People's Partnership Government as very high but said it was normal for whichever party was in power to spend more in campaigns.
The analysts opinions differed as to the reason for that phenomenon.
"The incumbent party's level of spending will always be more. They have an advantage over their competitors.
"It could be that one party could be able to raise more funds or it could be that the financiers could be more comfortable supporting the party in power," Basdeo said.
James said there was often a commingling of state and party funds during election periods.
"The lines are definitely blurred because it can be argued that advertising of the work done by the Government is advertising the work done by the political party who is in Government.
"It means more access to advertising funds," he added.
James said another reason could be that contractors who received funding from the Government would finance the party.
"We know it cannot come from the normal contributions of members. The level of spending is just too high for that to be so," he said.
Since Campaign Finance Reform has not yet been realised, there is no legislation to limit how much political parties spend on election campaigns.