The 2022 People's National Movement (PNM) leadership election, the last one for the PNM before the 2025 general election, has not yet been launched, but the current

party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...

and

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Keith Rowley Keith Christopher Rowley (born 24 October 1949) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician serving as the seventh prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, first elected into office on 9 September 2015 and again following the 2020 general electi ...

has indicated he would most likely not seek to lead the party into the next general election. Rowley made these comments in his victory speech on the night of the

2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election General elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on Monday, 10 August 2020, to elect 41 members to the 12th Trinidad and Tobago Republican Parliament. It was the 14th election since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1962 and th ...

, where the PNM secured a second mandate under his leadership but with the slimmest majority for a government in two decades. In the 2020 general election campaign, he indicated that he would have stood down had the PNM lost. The election follows the 2022 Tobago Council of the People's National Movement leadership election. This leadership election follows growing discontent for the PNM government and successive electoral decline in support since 2016, with the party making no inroads since the 2015 Trinidad and Tobago general election, recording net voter and seat share losses and no net gains in the 2016 Trinidadian local elections,

2017 Tobago House of Assembly election House of Assembly elections were held in Tobago on 23 January 2017. The result was a victory for the People's National Movement, which won ten of the twelve seats in the Tobago House of Assembly. Results Control Voting-seating comparison ...

, 2019 Trinidadian local elections,

, 2021 and 2022 Trinidadian local government by-elections where the party lost the Arima Central seat for the first time since 2013 and stumbled to third place in the Debe South seat and the party losing votes and seats in Tobago since the

2013 Tobago House of Assembly election A local election for 12 seats in the Tobago House of Assembly was held on 21 January 2013. The election was a clean sweep by the Tobago Council of the People's National Movement, winning all 12 seats in the Tobago House of Assembly, the only time ...

January 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election House of Assembly elections were held in Tobago on 25 January 2021 where 12 members were elected in the eleventh election since the Assembly was established in 1980. This election marked the first time in history that both parties elected, the Pe ...

and

December 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election Snap House of Assembly elections were held in Tobago on 6 December 2021 to elect all 15 members of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA). The election was called following a deadlock created by the January 2021 elections which resulted in a tie betw ...

where the party went from controlling all seats in 2009 to one seat in 2021 after two consecutive decades in power. The three persons viewed as the potential leadership successor for the party include Housing Minister

Pennelope Beckles Pennelope Althea Beckles-Robinson (born 12 September 1961) is a Trinidad and Tobago attorney and politician. She has served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for Arima since the 2020 general election. She is the current M ...

, seen as one of the only members which can unite the electorate and if elected, will make history by becoming the party's first female leader nationally and second overall after former PNM Tobago Council leader

Tracy Davidson-Celestine Tracy Petulia Davidson-Celestine (born 20 September 1978) is a Tobagonian politician who is the former Secretary of Health, Wellness and Family Development, as well as a former Councillor in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) becoming one of th ...

, and will also mark the first time in history that all parties, both chambers, in addition to the Presidency, in the

Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. The Parliament is bicameral. Besides the President of Trinidad and Tobago, it is composed of the House of Representatives, which is compose ...

are led by women, the other two candidates include

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Faris Al-Rawi Faris Al-Rawi is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician. He was the former Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago from 2015 to 2022. He is also a Member of the House of Representatives for the constituency of San Fernando West. Early life ...

who received the highest total number of votes in the 2014 party election despite contesting a non-leadership position and Energy Minister Stuart Young who has been given the informal title of "Minister of Everything", both could potentially make history by becoming the party's first leader of Asian descent.

Prospective Candidates

The following is a list of the only three frontrunners for the party's leadership who are seen as the most capabale of winning over the Trinidadian and Tobagonian electorate after rapid successive decline in support for the PNM government in both vote and seat shares in every election since 2016:

References

{{People's National Movement People's National Movement leadership election

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

People's National Movement leadership election Indirect elections Politics of Trinidad and Tobago Elections in Trinidad and Tobago

Prospective Candidates

See also

References