Opposition Sails to Victory in Trinidad and Tobago

• The opposition in the Caribbean twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) has won a decisive victory in Monday's parliamentary election, preliminary results suggest.
• The win by the centrist United National Congress (UNC) party means that Kamla Persad-Bissessar will be appointed as the next prime minister. Kamla already held the post once before, from 2010 to 2015, but her party was defeated in the last two elections by the centre-left People's National Movement (PNM).
• Preliminary results suggest the UNC, which campaigned on a promise to raise wages and create employment, managed to win several parliamentary seats previously held by the PNM. The PNM is said to be going into the Opposition with 10 to 12 seats from the previous 22 seats.
• PNM leader Keith Rowley conceded defeat late on Monday, saying that it had not been a good night for his party and that it was clear that it had lost the election. Rowley served as prime minister from 2015 to March of this year, when he announced he was stepping down and handing the reins of power to the energy minister, Stuart Young.
• But rather than serving out the remainder of Rowley's term, Young called a snap election just hours after being sworn in as prime minister. The move was widely seen as an attempt by Young to secure a stronger mandate amid criticism by the opposition that his elevation to prime minister was unconstitutional.
• The election came at a time when the country is grappling with a rise in homicides and an economic slump. Of note, the outgoing government declared a state of emergency in December, which stayed in force for 105 days.
• During her campaign, Persad-Bissessar promised to raise wages for public sector workers struggling to meet rising living costs. It was an issue she addressed again after the governing party had conceded defeat.

(Source: BBC News)