Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says there will be no state of emergency (SoE) for the entire duration of her Government’s term in office.Government, using its parliamentary majority, approved a three-month extension of the SoE on Wednesday night, with 28 members voting in favour and 12 Opposition members voting against.Contributing to the debate, the Prime Minister disclosed that she had commissioned a poll which found that a majority of law-abiding citizens supported the SoE and had confidence in the Police Service.Persad-Bissessar noted that Opposition MP Marvin Gonzales said her Government had imposed an SoE for nine of its 14 months in office and would keep “rolling over”.“You’re wrong. Nothing is further from the truth,” she responded.Persad-Bissessar said the country had been tormented by violence for about 25 years, with more than 10,000 murders and over 20,000 reported rapes and sexual assaults.She said there had also been tens of thousands of robberies, beatings and other violent acts against women and children.The Prime Minister said the SoE was a temporary measure intended to protect citizens.She said withdrawing the SoE prematurely would mean surrendering hard-won ground and jeopardising investigations.“The SoE must endure, for the criminal syndicates that imperil public order and menace the foundations of national security have not yet been subdued. We are working on that (but) they remain emboldened, they remain organised and they remain patient,” she said.Intelligence-led operations require the full latitude of the law to unmask and bring the architects of violence to justice, the Prime Minister said.Persad-Bissessar argued that the SoE was working, noting that murders fell by 42% in 2025.The PM reminded Parliament that the President’s March 2 proclamation outlining the SoE gave the reasons for its implementation.Reading from the proclamation, she said the President had been informed by Cabinet that in the preceding days, a number of violent criminal incidents had taken place, including mass shootings and attacks involving multiple victims, most of them carried out by members of organised criminal gangs, thereby endangering public safety.Cabinet had also informed the President of credible threats to attack police officers, prison officers and other members of the protective services, she said.Additionally, she noted that the proclamation stated that criminal gangs in Trinidad and Tobago had escalated acts of violence on a scale so extensive that it threatened lives and endangered public safety, and the National Security Council had determined that immediate action was necessary.Persad-Bissessar also took issue with Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles’ claim that people were against the SoE, saying her poll showed most citizens supported it.“I caused a poll to be done, and the majority of law-abiding citizens support the extension,” she said.Rights not ‘absolute’Persad-Bissessar argued that while people’s rights were enshrined in the Constitution, those rights were not absolute, and the Government was acting within the Constitution’s provisions.She said people still had the right to assembly and expression.“Is anyone being deprived of their liberty without due process? We are following the Constitution. We are working on eight, nine and ten in the Constitution, which gives the exceptions to these rights, and as I say, no rights are absolute,” she said. “The Constitution itself provides for when these rights can be overshadowed or regulated.”The Prime Minister said the Opposition was free to challenge the SoE in the courts.“If you want to take it to court with a bunch of lawyers you have on that side, you will surely lose it. Again, that is another freedom that you have,” she said.She also said people retained the right to movement.“When you’re gathering in your meeting, is anybody stopping you from assembling, associating? Is anybody stopping you from speaking? Where are your rights? Which rights have been impeded?” she asked, referring to the People’s National Movement’s (PNM) public meeting planned for last night.Persad-Bissessar pointed out that the proclamation can be extended for up to six months, in three-month increments, but beyond that a special majority vote in Parliament would be required. “I haven’t seen one of them lose their right to speak. Has someone stopped you from speaking?” she asked.She said the Opposition did not care that the majority of murders came from its strongholds. “I think sometimes all they care about is the safety and prosperity of their owners,” she said.
PM denies plan to ‘roll over’ SoE
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says there will be no state of emergency (SoE) for the entire duration of her Government’s term in office.Government, using its parliamentary majority, approved a three-month
TL;DRAI
PM Persad-Bissessar secured three-month emergency extension (28-12 vote); 2025 murders down 42% despite nine-month tenure. Constitutional super-majority requirement beyond six months enforces parliamentary sunset clauses, tempering indefinite crisis powers with democratic review.
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