Party Chairman of the People’s National Movement, Colm Imbert, has lamented that the present actions by the United National Congress could push back the election process by another two months.  

At a press briefing at the party’s Balisier House headquarters on Thursday, Imbert urged the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to adhere to the rules for recounts, which stipulated that they must be done expeditiously, so as not to prolong the democratic process.

The United National Congress’ candidate for St. Joseph, Alhoy Hunt, earlier on Thursday alleged that there were at least 171 irregular ballots identified at one polling station in St. Joseph, where preliminary election results showed  he lost to Terrence Deyalsingh of the People’s National Movement. Hunt has also taken issue with their request to see the polling station diary from Monday being denied.

Imbert dismissed the UNC’s allegation that the election was tampered with.

“It is impossible to rig the Trinidad and Tobago election because everybody involved in the process belonging to all the political parties would have to be involved in a conspiracy,” Imbert said.

Meanwhile Chief Election Officer of the Elections and Boundaries Commission, Fern Naris-Scope, says that nowhere in the legislation that governs election recounts does it make absolute provisions for the polling station diary to be provided to the candidate.

Imbert also rubbished the UNC’s argument that Dr. Rowley’s early victory announcement was an indication of PNM election mischief, and said the process of having polling agents from each political party contesting the election, in every polling station across the country, would mean that both parties would have been aware of the results around the same time.