The People's National Movement (PNM) not only lost the general election yesterday. The party also gave up the popular vote. The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) is expected to provide the final tally of votes today, but indications late last night were that the PNM would have surrendered majority support. Patrick Manning's party polled 299,813 votes in the November 2007 election, ahead of the United National Congress-Alliance's 194,425 and Congress of the People's 148,041. The results yesterday for the People's Partnership were more than the sum of its parts. The PNM won razor-thin majorities in the constituencies it secured yesterday, while the People's Partnership led wider majorities in several of the seats in which it romped home victorious.
The raw statistics are likely to confirm voter apathy in the PNM camp. For its part, the newly-minted People's Partnership was clearly able to mobilise and motivate not only core supporters, but also fence-sitters and some previous dyed-in-the-wool PNMites. Keen political observers had noted the PNM indifference during the campaign, pointing to smaller sized crowds at most meetings and to the large number of PTSC buses ferreting supporters to balisier meetings. "Bused crowds" had become part of the national lexicon, thanks to the PNM. On the street, in the buses, at barrooms and other places where the common man converged, there was audible chatter about frustration in over national governance. Quietly, PNMite insiders admitted that the race was a tough one, in a throwback to the manner in which George Chambers, in 1986, had avowed to the emerging National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) avalanche.
Some party operatives virtually asked the party faithful to pinch their noses and vote for the party. Dr Keith Rowley and Orville London openly sought to separate the party from leader Manning, who had become a hard-sell in spite of his international standing as host of two premier conferences. Party honchos whispered their bewilderment that Manning would summon the electorate at the height of Kamlamania and in the middle of a secured political term. Manning's pained face last night spoke of a leader who fell on his sword, victim of swirling scandals and especially unable to extricate himself from the Calder Hart infamy. Rowley, who months ago had damned this poll as the Udecott election, may have defined the political moment. He may well continue to do so, at least for the PNM.