“We will come back.”
The words of the Leader of the People’s National Movement Tobago Council, Ancil Dennis, as he conceded defeat at the polls on Monday night.
He made the statement following the loss of the Tobago East and West seats to the Tobago People’s Party (TPP).
He told reporters: “We accept the fact that the PNM is always held to a higher standard both in Tobago and in Trinidad, and there are reasons for that. We are the premier political party in the region. We have been around since 1956, and we will come back. We always bounce back from nights like these.”
Upholding his view that the PNM ran a satisfactory campaign, Mr. Dennis said the results are part of the political cycle – you win some and lose some.
“I wish the incoming government the best. I wish them success. I also wish them, our two new MPs representing us in the Parliament soon, I wish them the very best as well, and we of course in the PNM as we always do, we will go back, restrategise. We will regroup and we will definitely prepare for the next election, which is due very soon, the Tobago House of Assembly elections.”
He said the Council is expected to start their post-mortem discussion on Tuesday.
“It is difficult for us to really draw any conclusions as to the reasons for the results of the elections. Anything right now will be speculation, but we will do our assessments. We will do our post-mortem, and we will examine the reasons as to why persons voted the way they voted, which are always numerous.”
Mr. Dennis urged PNM supporters to remain calm and confident amidst Monday’s results.