The Pandemic Polls 2020 Voting In a time of COVID
Dr Kris Rampersad 
Masks and shields accompanined stained ink fingers in the 2020 Pandemic Polls to accomodate voting in a time of Novel Corona Virus COVID-19.
What does the 2020 Pandemic Polls hold in store? This would unfurl in the next few hours. The reportedly heavy voter turn out already suggests how pivotal the population views these polls as some 125 candidates vie for 41 seats in the Parliament’s House of Representatives. But the challenges remain for whoever take the helm henceforth into the Post Pandemic Planet.
The novel elements of these Pandemic Polls makes it difficult to call, and it may indeed provide some suprises for many and deviate substantially too from previous polling deviations.
Among the primary issues in 2020 is returning stability from the impacts of the Novel Corona Virus.
Economic Recovery
A downsliding economy is sliding into further depression with allegations of massive corruption and high levels of crime, violence and criminaltiy. This is compounded with the economic lock down that has seen many businesses resorting to retrenchment and shutdown. Unemployment, downsizing and shutdown owing to COVID-19 leaves many uncertain of their future
No Country for Old Men
There is no doubt that youth is the central element and focus of this election. The challenges emerging from the Pandemic demands novel solutions that can break with the tried and failed politics of the past and forge new directions for this small twin island country. Metaphorically speaking, it suggests that – to adjust Yates’ phrase, this is no country for old men
Digital Schooling Futures
Among the hardest hit arena is schooling, which ground to a halt. Online and digital learning systems, materials, as well as teacher digital competence are largely underdeveloped. The availability of digital infrastructure and equipment to maintain the high levels of schooling and literacy thrown into uncertainty from mismanagement of education prior to COVID-19 has placed this near the top of the election agenda. The most affected are those in primary schools. Yet amidst this uncertainty, they are mandated to write the Secondary Entrance Exam which is sheduled for ten days after the election.
Social Distress
The health, education and economic downslide have exarcerbated and heightened social stress, as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to climb.
Glance back at Elections Past
While the Pandemic places an entirely new spin on this, the 2020 General Election, a glance back at the past elections may set the stage in understanding the issues at stake in this. These have been and continue to be mismanaged diversity and social inclusion, high levels of corruption, crime, violence and criminality, rural neglect.
Other factors are the ingrained machismo culture, embryonic and immature gender mainstreaming, bureaucratic inflexibility, issues of entitlement and privileging, and perceived official indifference and disrespect.
Tectonic Shifts
Aberrations that showed significant tectonic shifts in electoral habits occurred twice in the young self-governing life of this twin-island republic.
The novelty of this takes me back to the heady election I first covered as a journalist, the landmark 1986 election that interrupted voting habits that were entrenched since 1956.
Budget Bogeyman
The country’s oil-based economy that has supported widespread corruption mismanagement. With this has emerged the Budget Bogeyman and the threat of stringent imposing taxes and other measures on the already stressed and strained population.
Usually, general elections were called before budgets as budgets were instruments to sweeten the appetites of voters. But this election deviated from that norm. It takes place before the 2020 Budget, which suggests and raises suspicion that the traditional electoral budget goodies may not be in the offering this time around, given the ongoing shrinking economy augmented by the economic adjustments from COVID-19 lockdowns.
Emerging Rural Issues
I was just entering journalism, and the limited staff of south desk, afforded the opportunity to cover large span of electoral districts in the South. Iwas also able to identify and represent emerging issues in rural communities that would have become lost to posterity, given the limited staff and resources of the South Bureau of the Trinidad Guardian the time.
Hallmark Electoral Year
The year 1986 was a hallmark one for Trinidad and Tobago, when a coalition of electoral forces upset the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM) in a landslide 33-3 in the December 15 General Elections. There were then 36 seats in the House of Representatives.
Cry for accomodation of diversity
In power since 1956 , the PNM was forced to give way to the growing forces of diversity which went largely unrecognised in the two party system. Responding to the cry for accomodation of diversity, four parties – the United Labour Front (ULF), the Organization for National Reconstruction (ONR), the Democratic Action Congress (DAC) and the Tapia House Movement (TAP) – formed an umbrella party and was led by Mr. Arthur N.R. Robinson called the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR). The Challenges of Diversity persisted. Among the main campaign issues of the day were corruption, inequities and underdevelopment.
In April 1989 Basdeo Panday, leader of the United Labour Front, along with other dissidents formed a new party, the United National Congress (UNC). The UNC, with six seats in the House of Representatives, replaced the PNM as the main Opposition Party.
Attempted Coup
In July 1990, a radical group attempted a coup. It took the then Prime Minister Arthur N. R. Robinson and five Ministers hostage for five days, provoking an outbreak of rioting and looting in the capital. The hostages were released on the promise of an amnesty.
Over the 20-year period from 1990 to 2010 witnessed a virtual deadlock and tug of war in its political processes that I have dealt with in considerable debt in my historical analyses of the politics leading to the 2010 General Election in my book, Through the Political Glass Ceiling.
Gender Politics of 2010
In 2010, gender equity and equality became the prime issue. The country saw its first woman Prime Minister in Kamla Persad-Bissessar with a coalition People’s Partnership Government. The Partnership comprised of four political parties: the United National Congress (ULF), the Congress of the People (COP), the Tobago Organization of the People (TOP), the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) against the government of Patrick Manning. of the PNM. The coalition won the election to hold 27 out of 41 seats in the House of Representatives.
Machismo Culture
However, the ingrained machismo culture, embryonic and immature gender mainstreaming, bureaucratic inflexibility, issues of entitlement and privileging, and meanderings compounded the ongoing challenges of diversity. Rifts and fractures in the Parnership led to it being voted out office in 2015 in favour of the PNM.
Al Gore receives copy of Dr Kris Rampersad’s
Through the Political Glass Ceiling
from Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar
Electoral System
The Trinidad and Tobago electoral system is based on the British colonial WestMinister System. Members of the House of Representatives are elected by first-past-the-post voting. The winner take all systems provides for a winner from the party who gets the majority in the most number of seats, rather than a representative system of the party with the highest number of votes or proportional representative system.
The convoluted picture of Trinidad and Tobago politics in Global, Caribbean and Local Contexts amalgamate my journalistic coverage of the last three and a half decades of electoral politics along with analyses, commentaries, in my blog Demokrissy and books, articles, multimedia and other presentations on television, conferences. These are contained in my digital archives, galleries and online learning platforms in preparation.
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Synopsis of a cross section of Reviews on LiTTscapes 
Kris Rampersad’s Book Through the Political Glass Ceiling 
Of Migrants & Migration: Engaging the Diaspora. 
Heritage and Literary Tours Explorations through Global Caribbean Local Landscapes 
- In the News Retuning the Republic New Civic Education
Wouldyou believe that changing the form and channel of this adds whole new dimensions to how we perceive, receive and understand our world. Happy REpublic Day. Building a Nation with novel solutions …. - Sale of Creative Assets miss the Forex boat fuel Exodus
How leading National Energy agency missed the boat on the knowledge economy and it is not only about that sale of audio visual archives T&T Loss, Barbados Gain…. Symptoms of Black Gold Epidemic and warning to region’s emerging oil economic - Sovereignty Sale Buy Out Culture Gaslight Feuds Fuel Crime
Sovereignty For Sale How Dutch Disease evolved to the Trinidad and Tobago Black Gold Epidemic to create not just in a State of Emergency against Crime. but also a State of Emergency in Education, Media, Culture, Tourism, Agriculture and strife in intercultural relations and negative development spiral. Reflecting on the State of Development in a month of conteplation on the State of the State at Indepdence and the sale of intellectual assets Dr Kris Rampersad Sovereignty Trilogy - PM Mottley More Sweetness To The Culture Market Basket
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In this time of ancestral ancestral rememberances, a sneakpeak India EPIC Landscape & Mindscapes of Heritage & History This Is Kashi I come to Kashi, from the world to detach Instead to Kashi’s other-worldly anchors I become attached… - EPIC Landscapes and Mindscapes of World Heritage and History New!
Introducing Innovative EPIC Landscapes & Mindscapes of World Heritage & History where heritage is more than monument, history more than date and decree.. find hidden and lost interconnections of our global heritage from the Caribbean to the world with startling insights and ask about creative partnerships … - Caribbean Oil Capital Guyana President New Mandate against Dutch Disease
Guyana President Dr Irfaan Ali took office five years ago, relatively unknown to World Leadership, now five years later his country polls its verdict …. Multilateral Policy Influencer Dr Kris Rampersad reflects on the Caribbean’s new oil capital and the changing tones of the leadership and governance in the region and the Global South - Ahoy Matey! Navigating World’s Wickedest UNESCO Heritage City
Swashbuckling through tumultuos seas, vessels manned by corrupt pirates, massive bureaucratic blocks and resource limitation Caribbean Queen of Culture Dr Kris Rampersad lands on World’s Wickedest Heritage City to unearth treasure chest for economic diversification identity retrieval and social cohesion and transformation - LAC Awesome foursome enter UNESCO World Heritage List
our New UNESCO World Heritage Sites for the regio… Maurading the High Seas of Heritage, clutching the lost map retrieved from the depths of the World’s Wickedest Heritage City, the swashbuckling Queen of Caribbean Culture & Heritage, Dr Kris Rampersad, is hot on the trail to unlocking the code to the treasure troves for economic diversification, identity retrieval & social transformation…like & follow for more F krisrampersad.com krisrampersad: youtube, instagram, linkedin - My World Heritage footprints on UNESCO sites
Swashbuckling Queen of Caribbean Heritage Dr Kris Rampersad navigates the treacherous global waters of World Heritage to leave a trail of footprints to a treasure trove for economic diversification, identity retrieval and social transformation … follow this trail to our interconnected global heritage - SOS! 2025 Security Emergency reopens forgotten Diary of 1990 Coup-bid
A State of Emergency, a government confronting criminality & corruption, weaknesses in justice systems and law enforcement agencies with weary and blood-thirsty citizens demanding guns and arms. Dr Kris Rampersad deep dives into the roots of social violence, experiences of the 1990 coup attempt & legacies States of Emergencies - In the News: Life-Altering Journey Through India
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With a blank creative canvas to turn audio visual light on India’s development thrust while retriacing ancestral footsteps, I hurled into the vortex that is India – beyond its racial, religious and geospatial walls - Knowledge Exchange on Daughters of World Largest Diaspora – A visit with the India Ambassador
He might be busy getting in placethe nuts and bolts of the visit of Indian Primce Minister Narendra Modi to Trinidad and Tobago but India High Commissioner to TT, Shri Pradeep Rajpurohit took the time to welcome me back to TT from India and to do this .. - Sopari Mai Reboot! PM Kamla’s 2nd historic election victory to shatter Glass Ceiling
Sopari Ki Mai, Kamla Persad-Bisessar victory at the post is the stuff of legends that resonates from this twin islnd republic across the region to our interconneted diaspora. What’s next on the road to development as a Woman Prime Minister, for the Caribbean as she joins Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley and for the diaspora and the Global South? Dr KRis Rampersad’s AuthenThink Intel Analyses pinpoints key benchmarks… - In The News: Reshaping Inclusive Development at World’s Largest Diaspora Gathering
Spread the loveAs we face explosion of crime and as the world explodes in conflict and wars, local - Cultures Converge in Historic MahaKumbh Mela Pravasi in Prayagraj
Spread the loveThe locals believe that those who show up for the Maha Kumbh Mela that takes place - My Date with Narendra Modi – revisiting India in the West reshaping a New World Order
Prelude to a closer look at the India-Caricom Summit, coming on the heels of the Brazil-hosted G20 Summit, and some new AuthenThink Intel AI AnalyEthics and insights into what this should mean for the region, the Americas, the Global South and the emerging New World Order! - Toxic Politics Petticoat Obsession US Election Knickers A-Twist in Race To The Polls A Woman’s Place When America Sneezes
In the cut and thrust of a toxic political culture with a petticoat obsession that leaves many-a-knickers-in-a-twist, how is the USA treating with skews, biases and prejudices that persist in the political playpen and reflecting in its polling analyses, media outputs, advertising and campaign prospects? Dr Kris Rampersad, AuthenThink AI AnalyEthics Development Strategist punches at the appearances in the USA Election Campaign. - High Stakes in US Elections Leadership Matters to Emerging New World Order – When America Sneezes
No matter how vehemently the USA sneezes, virally spreading its cold, flu and pandemic ailments across borders, it is not the whole shebang of the Americas that is our Hemisphere, struggling to assert and affirm myriad identities in a panoramic cultural mosaic - Future AI SciTech Learnings Passport To A Brave New ImaginedNation
Spread the love‘Oh brave new AI world that there’s so much data in’t!’ Missed me since the Data
