Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has officially announced that he will be stepping down as Prime Minister before the end of his term this year and will not be offering himself to represent any constituency in the upcoming general election.
Dr Rowley made the announcement at a news conference in Tobago which he called to address matters related to the ongoing State of Emergency.
He has been an active politician for the last 45 years and had strongly suggested during the country’s Budget debate in Parliament in October that he would not be returning to the Parliament when the last session ends.
The Cabinet is holding a retreat in Tobago this weekend and Dr Rowley told reporters that he would be telling them of his decision there.
“I will not be offering myself again to represent anyone either in Trinidad or in Tobago. Forty-five years is a long time and I would like at this time to say thank appropriately along the way to all those who have supported my effort,” Dr Rowley said.
He will oversee screening for the Tobago West and Tobago East candidates on Saturday before the retreat on Sunday and Monday.
He also thanked the people of Diego Martin West who have represented him from 1991 to now and said he will thank them appropriately when the time is right.
He then announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister.
“Before the end of the legal limits of this term, I will resign this office and go off to my family,” he said before bringing the news conference to an end.
Dr Rowley has been the country’s seventh prime minister, having first elected into office on September 09, 2015 and again following the August 10, 2020 general election.
He has led the People’s National Movement (PNM) since May 2010 and was Leader of the Opposition from 2010 to 2015.
( Trinidad Guardian)
PHOTO: Trinidad Guardian
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