Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has instructed the party to open nominations for all constituencies in T&T for the general election.
Addressing reporters during the media briefing which followed the PNM’s monthly general council meeting Saturday, party chairman Colm Imbert said the directive issued to the party’s General Secretary, would soon result in the correspondence being forwarded to all 41 constituencies to commence the process for nominations for the 2020 general election.
Confirming the party was employing much of the same strategy recently used in the Local Government Election (LGE), namely the early start with the call for nominations of candidates, Imbert said, “We are taking the general election very, very seriously. We are leaving nothing to chance.”
He expressed confidence that the party would be re-elected at the polls.
“We believe we have an excellent chance of returning to Government and winning the general election, but elections are won by hard work and preparation and we are starting now."
Tobago Council to announce new leader Sunday
Meanwhile, The People’s National Movement (PNM) Tobago Council is expected to announce its new leader on Sunday.
According to Imbert, the results of the run-off will reflect either a new leader in the form of Costa Rican Ambassador and challenger Tracy Davidson-Celestine or incumbent Kelvin Charles.
As was the case in the last internal elections in 2016, the new political leader of the PNM's Tobago Council had to be decided in a run-off after neither candidate secured more than 50 per cent of the votes among the members who had previously voted.
Imbert predicted, “We expect that run-off to go very smoothly.”
Meanwhile, the party is gearing up for its 64th-anniversary celebrations Sunday.
The party is hosting a ceremony at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), Port-of-Spain, beginning at 5 pm. Imbert said, “We expect a bumper crowd, similar to what we had last year.”
Also set to launch the PNM Mobile Application today to commemorate the event, Imbert said, “It will allow members to keep in touch with each other, to be informed of party events, and also encourage people to join and participate in the oldest and best political party in T&T.”
Encouraging members to continue to support the party’s Buy-A-Brick initiative - which will be used to assist in the construction of the new Balisier House, Imbert said the foundation has already been cast and the steel frame is currently being erected.
The current Balisier House is to be refurbished and used as a museum and archive library.