Tobago Council of the People's National Movement

The Tobago Council of the People's National Movement (PNM), [14] also known as the Tobago Council of the PNM, PNM Tobago or PNM Tobago Council is the longest-serving, oldest active and main political party in Tobago.[15] The party is the autonomous branch of the Trinidad and Tobago People's National Movement operating in Tobago. While its political leader acts in the local capacity, they also serve as a deputy leader on a national level. The party's executives organize for both local and national election campaigns. There have been three PNM Chief Secretaries and administrations.

Tobago Council of the People's National Movement
Abbreviation	Tobago Council of the PNM, PNM
Leader	Tracy Davidson-Celestine
Chairperson	Stanford Callendar
Secretary	Lynette James-Louis
Founded	1998
Headquarters	PNM Tobago Council Office Robinson Street Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago
Newspaper	MAGNUM
Youth wing	PNM Tobago East Youth League PNM Tobago West Youth League
Women's wing	PNM Tobago East Women's League PNM Tobago West Women's League
Membership (2020)	10,000[1]
Ideology	Liberalism[2][3] Social liberalism[4]
Political position	Centre[5][6] to Centre-left [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]
National affiliation	People's National Movement
Regional affiliation	West Indies Federal Labour Party (1957–1962)
Colors	Red
Senate	1 / 31 (19 August 2020–Present)
House of Representatives (Tobagonian seats)	2 / 2 (7 September 2015–Present)
Tobago House of Assembly	6 / 12 (25 January 2021-Present)
Election symbol
Balisier flower
Website
https://pnmtt.live/arm/tobago-council/
Politics of Trinidad and Tobago Political parties Elections

Founded in 1998,[16] it is the largest and most successful political party in modern Tobagonian politics. With the exception of 2010, the party has won the biggest share of the vote at the Trinidad and Tobago general elections since 2000 and has governed the Tobago House of Assembly uninterruptedly, winning every Tobago House of Assembly election from 2001 until 2021.

The Tobago PNM currently hold 2 of 2 Tobagonian seats in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament and 6 of 12 seats in the Tobago House of Assembly. Councillor and Secretary of Health, Wellness and Family Development, who previously served as Trinidad and Tobago Ambassador to Costa Rica and Deputy Chief Secretary Tracy Davidson-Celestine, is the current and first female political leader of the PNM after being elected in the 2020 People's National Movement Tobago leadership election.[17][18]

With its predecessor organizations and despite not being a socialist party, it was a member of the democratic socialist West Indies Federal Labour Party in the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation from 1957 to 1962, winning the Tobago seat in the 1958 elections.

As of January 2020, the party has 10,000 registered members.[19]

Tracy Davidson-Celestine, Tobago PNM party leader.

Elected representatives (current)

Tobago House of Assembly

Member of the Tobago House of Assembly		Electoral District
	Joel Jack	Bacolet/Mount. St. George
	Kelvon Morris	Black Rock/Whim/Spring Garden
	Ancil Dennis	Buccoo/Mount Pleasant
	Clarence Jacob	Canaan/Bon Accord
	Tracy Davidson-Celestine	Lambeau/Signal Hill
	Marslyn Melville-Jack	Scarborough/ Calder Hall

House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago

Member of Parliament		Constituency	First Elected
	Ayanna Webster-Roy	Tobago East	2015
	Shamfa Cudjoe	Tobago West	2015

Notable party members

Member		Position
	A. N. R. Robinson	Member of Parliament for Tobago East (1961-1976)
	Keith Rowley	Candidate for Tobago West (1981)
	Tracy Davidson-Celestine	First female political leader (2020-present)

Electoral performance

West Indies

Election		Party Group			Leader	Votes		Seats		Position	Government
						No.	Share	No.	Share
	1958[20]			WIFLP	Eric Williams (National party leader)	6,626	62.2%	1 / 1	100.0%	1st	WIFLP

Trinidad and Tobago general elections

Red indicates the seats won by the PNM at the 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election.

Election[21]		Party leader	Votes			Seats		Position	Government
			No.	%	±	No.	±
	1956	Eric Williams (National party leader)	5,529	47.54%		0 / 1		2nd	PNM
	1961		8,208	68.67%	21.13	2 / 2	2	1st	PNM
	1966		?	?	?	2 / 2		1st	PNM
	1971		2,675	90.65%	?	2 / 2		1st	PNM
	1976		5,933	42.41%	48.24	0 / 2	2	2nd	PNM
	1981	George Chambers (National party leader)	7,503	42.66%	0.25	0 / 2		2nd	PNM
	1986		6,357	31.90%	10.76	0 / 2		2nd	NAR
	1991	Patrick Manning (National party leader)	5,622	30.08%	1.82	0 / 2		2nd	PNM
	1995		6,949	36.80%	6.72	0 / 2		2nd	UNC–NAR
	2000	Orville London	8,672	47.46%	10.66	1 / 2	1	Tie	UNC
	2001		11,225	61.38%	13.92	2 / 2	1	1st	PNM Minority
	2002		13,432	65.75%	4.37	2 / 2		1st	PNM
	2007		12,534	55.26%	10.49	2 / 2		1st	PNM
	2010		12,305	44.09%	11.17	0 / 2	2	2nd	PP
	2015		18,560	74.34%	30.25	2 / 2	2	1st	PNM
	2020	Tracy Davidson-Celestine	16,402	60.76%	13.58	2 / 2		1st	PNM

Tobago County Council

Election[22]		Leaders	Votes			Seats		Position	Control
			No.	%	±	No.	±
	1959	Eric Williams (National party leader)	8,285	53.4		11 / 14		1st	PNM
	1968		?	?	?	?	?	?	?
	1971		N/A	N/A	N/A	11 / 11	?	? 1st	PNM
	1977		6,326	52.6	N/A	7 / 11	4	1st	PNM

Tobago House of Assembly

Red indicates seats won by the PNM in the 2017 Tobago House of Assembly election.

Election[22]		Leaders	Votes			Seats		Position	Government
			No.	%	±	No.	±
	1980	Eric Williams (National party leader)	7,097	44.4		4 / 12		2nd	DAC
	1984	George Chambers (National party leader)	8,200	41.4	3.0	1 / 12	3	2nd	DAC
	1988	Patrick Manning (National party leader)	5,977	35.8	5.6	1 / 12		2nd	DAC
	1992		6,555	36.7	0.9	1 / 12		2nd	NAR
	1996		5,023	33.6	4.1	1 / 12		2nd	NAR
	2001	Orville London	10,500	46.7	13.3	8 / 12	7	1st	PNM
	2005		12,137	58.4	11.7	11 / 12	3	1st	PNM
	2009		12,311	51.2	7.2	8 / 12	3	1st	PNM
	2013		19,976	61.2	10.0	12 / 12	4	1st	PNM
	2017	Kelvin Charles	13,310	54.7	6.5	10 / 12	2	1st	PNM
	2021	Tracy Davidson-Celestine	13,288	50.4	4.3	6 / 12	4	1st	Caretaker

Leaders

The leaders of the People's National Movement Tobago Council who additionally serve as deputy leaders of the party nationally have been as follows (any acting leaders indicated in italics):

Key:   PNM   NAR MaL: Majority Leader MiL: Minority Leader †: Died in office

Leader			Term		Position	Chief Secretary
1	Orville London		2001	3 July 2016	MaL 2001–2017		himself
2	Kelvin Charles		3 July 2016	26 January 2020	MaL 2017–2020		himself
3	Tracy Davidson-Celestine		26 January 2020 (Elected)	Incumbent			Kelvin Charles
							Ancil Dennis

Executive positions

These are the positions currently held by the Executive of the PNM Tobago Council:[23]

Position		Officeholder
	Political Leader	Tracy Davidson-Celestine
	Chairman	Stanford Callender
	Vice-Chairman	Deon Isaac
	Lady Vice-Chair	Marslyn Melville-Jack
	Secretary General	Lynette James-Louis
	Election Officer	Huey Cadette
	Public Relations Officer	Kwesi DesVignes
	Operations Officer	Ancil Thorne
	Field Officer	Keyon Andrews
	Labour Relations Officer	Kevern Phillips
	Welfare Officer	Ricardo Warner
	Social Media Officer	Tineesia Brebnor
	Youth Officer	Andre Baker
	Assistant Secretary	Akissi London
	Research Officer	Keigon Denoon
	Education Officer	Kurt Salandy
	Treasurer	Terrence Henry

External links

• Official website
• Facebook page
• Facebook group
• Instagram account
• Tobago Council website (defunct)

See also

• People's National Movement
• 2020 Tobago Council of the People's National Movement leadership election
• Chief Secretary of Tobago
• Presiding Officer of the Tobago House of Assembly
• List of political parties in Trinidad and Tobago

Notes

1. "10,000 to vote in Tobago PNM election". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
2. Lowenthal, David; Comitas, Lambros, eds. (1973). The Aftermath of Sovereignty: West Indian Perspectives (PDF). Anchor Books. p. 134. ISBN 978-0385043045. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
3. Griffith, Ivelaw L. (1993). The quest for security in the Caribbean : problems and promises in subordinate states. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-1-56324-089-8. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
4. "Caribbean Elections | People's National Movement". www.caribbeanelections.com. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
5. Derbyshire, J. Denis; Derbyshire, Ian (2016). Encyclopedia of World Political Systems. Routledge. p. 322. ISBN 9781317471561. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
6. Encyclopedia of world political systems. Sharpe Reference. 15 April 2016. ISBN 978-1-317-47156-1. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
7. "Labour leader Jacinda Ardern not the only one wanting to 'do this'". NZ Herald. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
8. "Let's do this: Everyone else who has used Labour's new slogan". Stuff. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
9. Guardian Group (PDF). Guardian Group http://www.myguardiangroup.com/trinidad/gam_pdfs/PrivateWealthMarketBrief19-Feb-18.pdf. Retrieved 15 January 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
10. https://www.nordeatrade.com/en/explore-new-market/trinidad-and-tobago/economy. Retrieved 30 May 2020. Missing or empty |title= (help)
11. "Economic Outline of Trinidad and Tobago - Bank of Scotland International Trade Portal". www.bankofscotlandtrade.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
12. "Trinidad and Tobago / Wirtschaftsanalysen - Coface". www.coface.at. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
13. Skard, Torild (2015). Women of Power: Half a Century of Female Presidents and Prime Ministers Worldwide. Policy Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-1-4473-1580-3.
14. "THE TOBAGO COUNCIL OF THE PNM (@pnmtobago) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
15. "BTI 2020 Trinidad and Tobago Country Report". BTI Blog. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
16. "PNM Shares More Tributes to Manning". www.guardian.co.tt. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
17. "Tracy Davidson-Celestine is PNM's new Tobago leader". www.looptt.com. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
18. "Tracy Davidson-Celestine is PNM's Tobago leader". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
19. "10,000 to vote in Tobago PNM election". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
20. "Report on the Election of Members to the Federal House of Representatives from the Territory of T&T 1958 (25th March 1958) | Elections And Boundaries Commission". Retrieved 2020-05-07.
21. "Publications and Reports | Elections And Boundaries Commission". Retrieved 2020-04-27.
22. "Publications and Reports | Elections And Boundaries Commission". Retrieved 2020-01-27.
23. "Callender retains PNM Tobago Council chairmanship". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 2020-01-22. Retrieved 2020-01-28.