JavaScript is disabled in your web browser or browser is too old to support JavaScript. Today almost all web pages contain JavaScript, a scripting programming language that runs on visitor's web browser. It makes web pages functional for specific purposes and if disabled for some reason, the content or the functionality of the web page can be limited or unavailable.

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

PNM results today; Imbert tells defeated candidates to ‘come again’

by

968 days ago
20221205
PNM chairman and Finance Minister Colm Imbert addresses supporters during the PNM’s 50th convention at the Grand Stand, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.

PNM chairman and Finance Minister Colm Imbert addresses supporters during the PNM’s 50th convention at the Grand Stand, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain, yesterday.

ABRAHAM DIAZ

Those who didn’t win in yes­ter­day’s Peo­ple’s Na­tion­al Move­ment’s (PNM’s) in­ter­nal elec­tions should “come again”.

This was the ad­vice ex­tend­ed by out­go­ing PNM chair­man, Fi­nance Min­is­ter Colm Im­bert when he ad­dressed del­e­gates and ob­servers at yes­ter­day’s morn­ing seg­ment of the PNM’s 50th con­ven­tion at the Grand Stand, Queen’s Park Sa­van­nah in Port-of-Spain.

The re­sults will be an­nounced to­day, Im­bert told the con­ven­tion.

The third and fi­nal day of vot­ing in the PNM’s in­ter­nal elec­tion took place from 8 am to 1 pm.

Speak­ing in the morn­ing ahead of the re­sults, Im­bert not­ed the num­ber of can­di­dates in the elec­tion. He said it was quite a keen­ly con­test­ed one.

“So it should be,” he said.

Im­bert said some can­di­dates would win and some would lose. To those who win, he ex­tend­ed best wish­es and hearti­est con­grat­u­la­tions. To those who lose, “I’d say come again.”

Im­bert not­ed that Row­ley first con­test­ed the PNM’s lead­er­ship in 1996 but be­came the PNM leader in 2010, 14 years lat­er. Im­bert gave that as an ex­am­ple of per­se­ver­ance, per­sis­tence and fo­cus.

Im­bert al­so said that every day one saw and heard “all sorts of things” be­ing thrown at “us mem­bers of the PNM”.

“Peo­ple don’t pelt a tree with green man­goes - and that’s the rea­son,” he said.

Im­bert said mem­bers should nev­er be afraid to an­swer the PNM’s crit­ics.

“Si­lence is not an op­tion,” he added.

He not­ed it was an op­tion long ago but not in these times of so­cial me­dia, in­clud­ing Face­book, Tik­Tok and In­sta­gram.

Im­bert who said the PNM won the 2015 elec­tion “against all odds”, not­ed the op­er­a­tion by leader Dr Kei­th Row­ley dur­ing the 2010- 2015 pe­ri­od when the PNM cre­at­ed its poli­cies and as­sem­bled its team.

He ar­gued that was what led to the 2015 vic­to­ry and lat­er again in 2020.

“That’s one of the main rea­sons why they’re so jeal­ous as it’s not easy to be in Op­po­si­tion for 10 years...or 15 or 20 years for that mat­ter.”

Im­bert re­count­ed his his­to­ry with the PNM when he joined the par­ty in 1986 when the PNM had three seats to the Na­tion­al Al­liance for Re­con­struc­tion’s (NAR’s) 33. He not­ed the PNM came back from that to win in 1991 un­der late leader Patrick Man­ning.

“Those were ex­cit­ing times,” he said adding he was in his 30s.

Im­bert said the PNM’s 1995 loss didn’t daunt them, not­ing that they fought back and re­turned again in oth­er elec­tions in­clud­ing up to 2007, and af­ter the PNM’s 2010 de­feat, re­turned in 2015.

“This is a demon­stra­tion of the in­domitable re­silient spir­it of the Peo­ple’s Na­tion­al Move­ment - they can’t beat us!”


Related articles

Sponsored

Weather

PORT OF SPAIN WEATHER

Sponsored