PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC):

Political parties in Trinidad and Tobago were yesterday finishing up last-minute campaigning for today's general election, which is expected to produce a close fight between the governing People's National Movement (PNM) and the opposition United National Congress Alliance (UNC-A), with the incumbent party being favoured for a third straight term in office.

On Sunday afternoon some candidates were busy doing walkabouts in their constituencies in a final attempt to woo voters, while the political parties ran political broadcasts of their rallies held on Saturday. Outside of those activities, the political temperature had cooled considerably as the parties look to the polls.

This contrasted with Saturday night when all three political parties contesting the November 5 general elections staged impressive rallies, urging supporters to ensure victory for them.

Prime Minister and leader of the PNM, Patrick Manning, addressing supporters at the Eddie Hart Grounds in Tunapuna, east of here, hinted at a comfortable victory for the party.

Pollsters wrong

He said that the victory would show that the polls conducted by the pollsters were wrong, a reference to at least two opinion polls that suggest a close contest between the ruling party and the recently-formed Congress of the People (COP) party headed by former Central Bank governor, Winston Dookeran.

Manning, 61, said that he was gratified at the number of young people who were now associating themselves with the governing party and said that this was due to the social and economic policies of his administration over the past six years.

Manning recalled that when the party was defeated in the 1995 general elections he walked the "length and breadth of this country" talking to people about the issues that they felt his past administration should have been paying attention to between 1991-1995.

Panday's last hurrah

Former Prime Minister and leader of the main opposition UNC-A, Basdeo Panday, urged supporters at his party's rally in Aranguez, east of the capital, to ensure that he leaves the political scene "in a blaze of glory".

Panday, 74, said it was safe to say that the elections would be his "last hurrah" and that he was coming to the end of a long journey that spanned more than 40 years.

"Send me off in a blaze of glory. Send me off with my head held high and my fist in the air, my soldier's boots on my feet and my beret on my head," he said.

Panday, one of the co-leaders of the UNC-A, an amalgam involving the United National Congress and some small political organisations, described the campaign as a "long war" telling supporters "I thank you for all your support."

Meanwhile, the COP took its 11 hour campaign to Woodford Square in the heart of the capital, with Dookeran urging supporters to ensure that there is a change of government.

"Are you ready to stand up for Trinidad and Tobago? Are you ready for a new government in Trinidad and Tobago?" Dookeran said, reminding young people that they had contributed to a "change in the politics of our country".