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- Published: April 29, 2025 17:28
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has congratulated Kamla Persad-Bissessar for securing a win in the elections held in Trinidad and Tobago and said that he looked forward to working with her to strengthen the partnership for shared prosperity and the well-being of the people of the two nations.
This win marks the comeback of Persad-Bissesar, 73, who served as the Prime Minister from 2010-2015,
In a post shared on X, PM Modi stated, “Heartiest congratulations @MPKamla on your victory in the elections. We cherish our historically close and familial ties with Trinidad and Tobago. I look forward to working closely with you to further strengthen our partnership for shared prosperity and well-being of our people.”
UNC political leader and Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister-elect Kamla Persad Bissessar secured the win in the 2025 general election. At 10:10 p.m. (local time) on April 28, the United National Congress (UNC) defeated the PNM government, with PNM political leader Keith Rowley stating that if the voting trends held, the PNM would be entering the Opposition with 10 to 12 seats, local newspaper Trinidad and Tobago Newsday reported.
Speaking from her constituency office in Siparia, Kamla Persad-Bissessar urged UNC supporters not to be boastful or arrogant as the vote counting was underway. She said, “We have a lot of work to do, so we are heading up now to (UNC) party headquarters.”
She said the UNC held its 19 seats and flipped several seats previously held by the PNM. However, she did not want to declare any of these flipped seats since counting was still underway. She said TPP had won the two Tobago seats.
A few minutes later, at Balisier House, Rowley, joined by outgoing Prime Minister Stuart Young and PNM deputy political leader Rohan Sinanan, conceded the defeat. He said that, based on the numbers coming into Balisier House, they were heading into the Opposition with 10 or 12 seats.
He said, “Tonight is not a good night for the PNM, but it might be a good night for the people of TT,” Trinidad and Tobago Newsday reported. He stated, “Things have gone very well with the processes, the results are coming in now, but from what we have coming in to Balisier House, it would appear that we have lost the election.”
Conceding defeat in the election, he said, “We are conceding defeat on election night, but tomorrow is another day. We conceded in 1986, we conceded in 1995, and we conceded in 2010, so, in this 70-year-old party, sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t win.”
He said that they had made a comeback from one seat and added that “10 to 12 seats don’t count us out,” Trinidad and Tobago Newsday reported. Rowley called the election results surprising and added that the PNM will start its campaign for the next general election in the next five years.