Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley has proposed that quick steps be taken to amend the Tobago House of Assembly Act, to include provisions to deal with a deadlock. 

The future of the THA has been mired in uncertainty since the January 25th election which saw a 6-6 tie between the People’s National Movement and the Progressive Democratic Patriots. 

Addressing the matter in the House of Representatives on Friday, Dr. Rowley said Cabinet agreed that among the proposed changes to the Act, is increasing the number of Assemblymen from 12 to 15, to omit the chance of another tie occurring in a THA election. 

It’s a proposal that has already been criticized by Opposition Leader Kamla Persad Bissessar, who accused the PM of overstepping into Tobago’s internal affairs. 

Persad-Bissessar argued that there were already sufficient provisions in the law to treat with the tie in Tobago.

Explaining the proposed amendment, Dr. Rowley pointed out: “In its current construct, the Tobago House of Assembly Act, whilst it makes provision for and directs the election a presiding officer, does not cater for what may happen where the elected Assemblymen are split evenly between two parties and neither side is prepared to yield ground to the other. “

“The legislature must have anticipated that as a possibility and accordingly must be taken to have envisaged that the two parties would collaborate to construct a coalition government, whether by sharing the offices of Presiding Officer, Chief Secretary, Deputy Chief Secretary and Secretaries, or otherwise,” he added.

He said that government sought the appropriate advice in drafting the amendments.

“…A cacophony of voices has proposed solutions to the deadlock but the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, with the best interest of the Tobagonian have accepted the best available legal advice and has chosen to bring this matter to the Parliament for relief and rectification,” he said.