No urgency to issue election writs; deadline is August 03

President Anthony Carmona

The People's National Movement (PNM) continues to make an issue of the election writs for the September 07 general election but according to the law there is no urgency for President Anthony Carmona to do it now.

On Friday the Rowley PNM held a news conference and accused Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of failing to write to the president about the September 07 election date.
  
But within hours of that charge the Office of the Prime Minister produced a letter from the then acting president dated June 17, 2015 in which Raziah Ahmed acknowledged the PM's letter of June 15, 2015. Ahmed letter's stated that the election date would be September 07 and nomination day would be August 17.  

Not content with that the PNM issued a media release Saturday expressing concern that the president has not yet issued the writs. But according to the election rules as stated in the the Representation of the People Act, it is not necessary to do it now. 

The matter of the timing of the writs is contained in Section 33 of the Act, Chap. 2:01 which provides the President with the power to issue the writs not later than 14 days before nomination day, which is August 17.

That means that there is a 35-day window from the issuance of the writs to election day so the president has until August 03, 2015 to issue the writs in keeping with the legal requirements. That gives the president 29 days to issue the writs.