Political analyst Dr Shane Mohammed is challenging the PNM to explain why Brian Manning’s narrow 2025 election victory is being used as evidence of “dwindling” popularity when three of the party’s other successful candidates won by similarly slim or even smaller margins.
Mohammed said Manning’s 673-vote victory must be considered alongside the performance of other successful PNM candidates.
He questioned whether the party conducted any scientific assessment to determine why Manning’s margin fell from 5,173 votes in 2020 to 673 in 2025, rather than simply attributing the decline to his personal popularity.
Mohammed pointed out that Opposition Leader Penelope Beckles retained Arima by 699 votes, while PNM chairman Marvin Gonzales won Arouca/Lopinot by 259 and Dominic Romain captured Malabar/Mausica by 254.
In fact, he said Manning ranked 11th among the PNM’s 13 successful candidates by margin of victory, ahead of Gonzales and Romain.
“If the party now wants to discuss popularity within its ranks, then the party ought to be led by the people who secured the widest ranges of victories and confidence of the voters, not so?” Mohammed asked.
Mohammed also challenged the suggestion that responsibility for the difficulties in San Fernando East could rest primarily with Manning, saying constituency executives and local government representatives are critical to a constituency’s political machinery.
He questioned whether the fractured relationship between Manning, former constituency chairman Patricia Alexis and executive members existed before the 2025 election. If it did, Mohammed argued, that would raise another question: whether Manning managed to retain the seat despite a dysfunctional constituency structure.
Mohammed also criticised the seven complaints now before the PNM’s Investigations Committee, particularly because they originated from members across several constituencies.
He said complaints originating outside San Fernando East could potentially be influenced by internal party interests and questioned whether they should carry the same weight as complaints arising directly from the constituency. – Akash Samaroo
