Kamla Persad Bissessar has declared victory in Trinidad and Tobago’s general election on Monday, leading the United National Congress (UNC) to a decisive win over the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM).
The result ends the PNM’s decade-long hold on power and sets Persad Bissessar up for her second term as Prime Minister—making her only the second person in the country’s history to return to the role after an electoral loss.
Outgoing Prime Minister Stuart Young, who had taken office just 43 days earlier on March 17 following Dr. Keith Rowley’s retirement, now becomes the shortest-serving leader in Trinidad and Tobago’s history. The previous record-holder, ANR Robinson, served for four years and 363 days.
“The members of the population have spoken, and despite tonight I will fight for Trinidad and Tobago,” Young, 50, said in his concession speech on Monday night. With full results from the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) still pending, Young said the PNM was projected to win only 10 to 12 of the 41 parliamentary seats—down from the 22 it held prior to the election.
For Persad Bissessar, 73, the victory marks a political resurgence more than a decade after she first served as Prime Minister from 2010 to 2015. She will become Trinidad and Tobago’s eighth Prime Minister and the second—after Patrick Manning—to return to office after losing a general election. Manning had lost to Basdeo Panday in 1995 but reclaimed power in 2001.
Addressing jubilant supporters, Persad Bissessar promised a government that would be responsive and people-centered. “No one will be left behind, because when UNC wins, everybody wins,” she said. “You will now have a prime minister who cares, a prime minister who loves you…serve the people, serve the people, serve the people.”
Persad Bissessar will also make history as the oldest person to assume the nation’s highest office, entering at age 73. If she completes her full five-year term, she will leave office at 78, surpassing the previous age record held by Dr. Keith Rowley, who retired at 76. Before Rowley, all previous prime ministers ranged between 50 and 65 years of age during their tenures.
The PNM, which had governed since 2015 and sought a third consecutive term, had hoped to extend its legacy of over 50 years in power since Trinidad and Tobago’s independence. Instead, the electorate opted for change.
Flanked by members of the UNC coalition, Persad Bissessar described the moment as “a tremendous blessing,” and thanked candidates and voters across the country. “Let us rejoice and celebrate this day in our history,” she said.
She listed a series of priority actions for her incoming administration, including restoring pensions for seniors, increasing public servants’ salaries, and reopening the shuttered Petrotrin refinery and the Children’s Hospital. The Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU), a key coalition partner, had lobbied heavily on the Petrotrin issue. Union leader Ancel Roget said the refinery’s closure under the PNM had brought “immense suffering” and promised that a UNC-led government would change that.
At the PNM headquarters, former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley admitted defeat, telling reporters, “It is clear we have lost the elections. Sometimes you win some…we wish all the winners well.” He said the party would announce a new Opposition Leader on Wednesday.
Young, for his part, emphasized that the PNM would not disappear into political irrelevance. “The PNM is not the sour grapes type,” he said. “We will bounce back.”
As Trinidad and Tobago turns the page following the election, Persad Bissessar’s political comeback not only reshapes the country’s leadership but underscores her enduring influence in the nation’s political history—an arc spanning more than a decade and now entering a remarkable second chapter.
