National Alliance for Reconstruction
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The National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) was the governing
party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...
in
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 ...
between 1986 and 1991. The party has been inactive since 2005.


History

The party was established in 1986, aiming to be a multi-racial party. Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p630 It was formed by former
People's National Movement The People's National Movement (PNM) is the longest-serving and oldest active political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party has dominated national and local politics for much of Trinidad and Tobago's history, contesting all elections sinc ...
members and opposition parties, including the
Organisation for National Reconstruction The Organisation for National Reconstruction (ONR) was a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party received the second-highest number of votes in the 1981 general elections, but failed to win a seat. Prior to the 1986 elections it merged ...
(a party established in by PNM dissident
Karl Hudson-Phillips Karl Terrence Hudson-Phillips, ORTT, QC (20 April 1933 – 16 January 2014) was an Attorney-General of Trinidad and Tobago and a judge of the International Criminal Court. He was also lead counsel in the murder trial of Grenadian Prime Minis ...
in 1980), the
United Labour Front The United Labour Front (ULF) was a political party in Trinidad and Tobago and the main opposition party between 1976 and 1986. It was a successor to the Democratic Labour Party and the Workers and Farmers Party. History The party was establishe ...
, the
Democratic Action Congress The Democratic Action Congress (DAC) was a Tobago-based political party in Trinidad and Tobago. History The party was established in 1971 by A. N. R. Robinson, and was originally an autonomist party. It first contested general elections in 1976, ...
and the
Tapia House Movement The Tapia House Movement was a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. It first contested national elections in 1976, when it finished fourth with 3.9% of the vote, but failed to win a seat. Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handb ...
– the latter three having previously been part of an electoral pact known as the National Alliance. The new party won the
1986 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1986. Africa * 1986 Angolan legislative election * 1986 Gabonese presidential election * 1986 Mozambican general election * 1986 Sierra Leonean parliamentary election * 1986 Somali presidential elec ...
, taking around 66% of the national vote (the first time the PNM had failed to win over 50% since
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
) and winning 33 of the 36 seats in the
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 ...
.
A. N. R. Robinson Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson (16 December 1926 – 9 April 2014; known as A. N. R. or "Ray" Robinson), was the third President of Trinidad and Tobago, serving from 19 March 1997 to 17 March 2003. He was also Trinidad and Tobago's third Prime ...
, previously leader of the DAC, became Prime Minister. The NAR entered government with broad national support and goodwill, but support declined as fiscal austerity and neo-liberal economic policies imposed by the
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
's Structural Adjustment Program resulted in increased unemployment and a 10% cut in salaries in the public service. Infighting over government posts and economic policies split the party and some ministers defected after a single year in power. In 1988 former ULF leader
Basdeo Panday Basdeo Panday (; born 25 May 1933) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian lawyer, politician, trade unionist, economist, actor, and former civil servant who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 1995 to 2001. He was the first ...
was expelled, taking with him five other former ULF members to form the Indian-dominated
United National Congress The United National Congress ( UNC or UNCTT) is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago and the current parliamentary opposition. The UNC is a centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, e ...
. Subsequently, a further five MPs defected to become independents. In 1990 the
Jamaat al Muslimeen The Jamaat al Muslimeen (, also transliterated as Jamaat-ul Muslimeen or Jama'at al-Muslimeen, ''"School of Muslims", "Group of Muslims", "The Muslim Group", "The Muslim Assembly", "The Muslim Society", "The Muslim Community"'') is a radical extr ...
attempted to capitalise on the dissatisfaction with an attempted coup. Despite surviving the attempted coup the NAR was defeated in the 1991 general elections, winning only two seats, both in Tobago. Following the defeat Robinson resigned as party leader, and several other prominent NAR members retired, leaving the NAR severely weakened. In the 1992 local elections the NAR suffered another humiliating defeat, failing to win a single seat. The NAR did however retain its dominance in the
Tobago House of Assembly The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is a unicameral devolved legislative body responsible for the island of Tobago within the unitary state of Trinidad and Tobago. The THA was re-established in 1980
, winning eleven of the twelve seats in the 1992 elections. The party went through rapid leadership changes. Former Works Minister
Carson Charles Carson Charles is a Trinidad and Tobago politician and former Minister of Works and Transportation. He is the political leader of the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR). After the resignation of A.N.R. Robinson as NAR leader in 1991 fo ...
served as leader from 1992 until 1993. He was replaced by former Finance Minister Selby Wilson. Charles left the NAR and formed his own group the National Development Party. In a 1994 by-election an attempt was made to have the NAR and its two daughter parties the UNC and NDP, run a joint platform. However, the proposals failed to come to fruition. The UNC was adopting a policy of attracting 'NAR voters' directly rather than attempting another formal alliance, and following his failure to reunite the party, Wilson resigned and the NAR was leaderless until just prior to the 1995 elections. During this period NAR chairman Robert Mayers served as the ''de facto'' leader. When elections were called in 1995, Robinson was persuaded to return and resume leadership of the party. In the elections the party retained its two Tobago seats, but failed to win any in Trinidad. However, it joined the UNC-led coalition and returned to government. Robinson was appointed Minister Extraordinaire and was elected president in 1997. Former Speaker of the House Nizam Mohammed replaced him as NAR leader. However the NAR continued to weaken and fracture. Its bargaining position was reduced when two PNM (People's National Movement) MPs defected and joined the government as independents. In the 1996 Tobago elections an NAR assemblywoman, Deborah Moore-Miggins, contested as an Independent and won, although the party won ten of the twelve seats. However, two other NAR assemblymen later defected and joined her in forming the People's Empowerment Party. During the 1996 local elections the NAR contested around a third of the 124 seats, whilst the UNC contested the remaining two-thirds. Most of the seats contested by the NAR however were PNM strongholds, where the NAR had little support. Even in places like
Arima Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of th ...
where the NAR could potentially have won, independent candidates split the vote, leading to PNM victories. The NAR won no seats and accused the UNC of supporting the independents, deliberately preventing the NAR from regaining representation in Trinidad. Further problems for the party from its two MPs. Morgan Job (who had taken over Robinson's seat) frequently sided with the UNC against the NAR leadership, whilst the other was increasing friendly with the PEP and eventually became an independent. The party subsequently withdrew from the government. Mohammed did not seek reelection and former Attorney General
Anthony Smart Anthony Isidore Smart is a Trinidadian politician and lawyer. He served as a Member of Parliament from December 1986 to November 1991 and Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago from March 1989 to November 1991. He was also Political Leader of the ...
became the new NAR leader in 1999. In the
2000 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2000. Africa * 2000 Ethiopian general election * 2000 Ghanaian presidential election * 1999–2000 Guinea-Bissau general election * 2000–01 Ivorian parliamentary election * 2000 Ivorian presiden ...
the party was reduced to a single seat. The following year the party lost the
Tobago House of Assembly elections Elections to the Tobago House of Assembly have taken place every 4–5 years since its establishment in 1980. There are twelve electoral districts, each electing one representative. The People's National Movement has been successful in all ...
, defeated by the PNM. Early national elections were also held in 2001, which saw the NAR lose its single seat. In another early election the following year the party increased its vote share to 1.1%,Nohlen, p641 but failed to regain a seat. The NAR suffered a further blow in 2004 when a portion of the Tobago wing of the party led by Hochoy Charles split away from the NAR and re-formed the DAC, reducing the NAR to two seats. In the 2005 Tobago elections it received just 113 votes and lost both.


Party leaders

*
A. N. R. Robinson Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson (16 December 1926 – 9 April 2014; known as A. N. R. or "Ray" Robinson), was the third President of Trinidad and Tobago, serving from 19 March 1997 to 17 March 2003. He was also Trinidad and Tobago's third Prime ...
(1986–91, 1995–97) *
Carson Charles Carson Charles is a Trinidad and Tobago politician and former Minister of Works and Transportation. He is the political leader of the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR). After the resignation of A.N.R. Robinson as NAR leader in 1991 fo ...
(1992–93), (2005- ) *Selby Wilson (1993–94) *Nizam Mohammed (1997–99) *
Anthony Smart Anthony Isidore Smart is a Trinidadian politician and lawyer. He served as a Member of Parliament from December 1986 to November 1991 and Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago from March 1989 to November 1991. He was also Political Leader of the ...
(1999-2001) *Lennox Sankersingh (2001-2005)


References

{{Authority control Political parties established in 1986 Defunct political parties in Trinidad and Tobago 1986 establishments in Trinidad and Tobago