The polls are open and the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) has assured that everything is in place for persons to vote today.
More than a million people are eligible to cast their ballot for 373 candidates contesting local government elections.
Chief Election Officer, Fern Narcis-Scope said, “We’re ready and every effort has been made to ensure each elector is able to cast their vote.”
In a media release on Sunday, Narcis-Scope reminded the electorate that people who may not have received their poll card or with expired ID cards can still vote, once their name is on the Revised List of Electors.
In its preparations for today’s elections, the EBC partnered with the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM), the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service (TTMS) and the Disaster Management Units ( DMUs) of the Regional Corporations.
Narcis-Scope said this was the beginning of what she considers to be a working partnership with these agencies going forward.
The EBC said that it will be monitoring the eweather conditions and will receive regular updates from the TTMS.
With the assistance of the ODPM and the DMUs, sandbags have also been prepositioned in flood prone areas in the event of an emergency during Monday’s elections.
The Chief Election Officer thanked all the entities, including the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service and the Electricity Commission, which have worked alongside the Department in its preparations for these elections.
Narcis-Scope noted that traditionally, there is a greater interest in parliamentary elections, however, local government elections are logistically more challenging to execute and this election was no different.
There are 372 candidates contesting today’s polls in one hundred and forty-one electoral districts in fourteen electoral areas in Trinidad.
The electorate going to the polls is 1,078,651.
The Special Elector electorate was 13, 284. Special Voting ended at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday 13th August at the Offices of the Returning Officers.
The electorate is reminded to verify the location of their polling station before leaving home to vote, as changes to polling station venues may have been made for these elections.
People unsure of the location of their polling station can visit the EBC’s website at www.ebctt.com and do a Registration Look Up or call the EBC’s hotlines at 785-8206 or 785-8211.
The EBC said since the publication of the number of candidates after the close of Nomination Day on June 26th, 2023 one (1) candidate withdrew his nomination in the electoral district of La Romaine.