Trinidad and Tobago general election, 1971
Encyclopedia
General elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago
on 24 May 1971. The result was a victory for the People's National Movement
, which won all 36 seats. However, due to an boycott
by all major opposition parties protesting at fraud related to the voting machines used in previous elections, voter turnout was just 33.2%.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
on 24 May 1971. The result was a victory for the People's National Movement
People's National Movement
The People's National Movement is the present-day opposition political party in Trinidad and Tobago. Founded in 1955 by Eric Williams, it won the 1956 General Elections and went on to hold power for an unbroken 30 years. After the death of Williams in 1981 George Chambers led the party...
, which won all 36 seats. However, due to an boycott
Election boycott
An election boycott is the boycotting of an election by a group of voters, each of whom abstains from voting.Boycotting may be used as a form of political protest where voters feel that electoral fraud is likely, or that the electoral system is biased against its candidates, or that the polity...
by all major opposition parties protesting at fraud related to the voting machines used in previous elections, voter turnout was just 33.2%.
Results
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's National Movement People's National Movement The People's National Movement is the present-day opposition political party in Trinidad and Tobago. Founded in 1955 by Eric Williams, it won the 1956 General Elections and went on to hold power for an unbroken 30 years. After the death of Williams in 1981 George Chambers led the party... |
99,723 | 84.1 | 36 | |
| Democratic Labour Party Democratic Labour Party (Trinidad and Tobago) The Democratic Labour Party was the main opposition party in Trinidad and Tobago between 1957 and 1971. The party was the party which opposed the People's National Movement at the time of Independence... |
14,940 | 12.6 | 0 | |
| African National Congress African National Congress (Trinidad and Tobago) The African National Congress was a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party first contested national elections in 1961, when it received just 0.5% of the vote and failed to win a seat... |
2,864 | 2.4 | 0 | New |
| Independents | 997 | 0.8 | 0 | 0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 73 | – | – | – |
| Total | 118,597 | 100 | 36 | 0 |
| Source: Nohlen | ||||