Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said Parliament had to validate the January 23 date for the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections because errors were made by the Office of the President and the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC).
As he presented the THA Election Validation Bill for debate at an extraordinary sitting of the House of Representatives in Port-of-Spain yesterday, the AG explained that the error was made because the required 21 days from Nomination Day on January 3 to polling day on January 23, could not be met.
He said because of the January 2 New Year's public holiday there were only 20 days between Nomination Day and the scheduled polling day.
Al-Rawi said Government was not in any way associated with that error.
He said at 7.30 pm on Thursday he received an email from the secretary to President Anthony Carmona, Gregory Serrette, advising that he was directed "to inform your good self of a missive dated 19 January received from the Chief Elections Officer, Elections and Boundaries Commission, surrounding the fixing of the date for the primary election for the Tobago House of Assembly election scheduled for January 23, 2017."
The email listed the chronological order of events for the election and explained that THA Chief Secretary Orville London, by letter dated December 14 advised the President that the 2013 to 2017 term of the THA was dissolved from November 11, and elections would be held on January 23.
Al-Rawi said on December 12, President Carmona wrote to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley advising him of the suggested date for the elections and asked Rowley if he had any objections to the proposed January 23 date.
By letter dated December 14, Rowley told Carmona he had no objection to the date for the elections. Subsequently, the EBC confirmed that the dates were "in proper order."
The President informed Rowley that he was fixing January 23 as the date for the THA elections with January 3 as Nomination Day.
London was also informed of that date and the THA election writs were signed Carmona.
Al-Rawi said Parliament was "being asked to do a legitimate thing, to conduct a legitimate aim to allow persons who have prepared for an election to conduct a fair and full election."
He said the validation was "to take care of an error in the timetabling by the EBC and by the President."
"So we don't need to look to guess where this error came from. The President has told us in written correspondence," he said.
However, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said it was wrong to try to blame the President for the situation.
"She said Government should take the blame for an act of "extraordinary incompetence."
Persad-Bissessar said while the UNC was not involved in the THA election in any way she was recommending that Tobagonians vote for any party except the PNM on Monday. The bill was later approved with all 37 MPs present voting in support of validation.
The Senate will meet today to consider the election validation.