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Despite holding 26 seats in the Lower House, the United National Congress (UNC)-led administration will not have free rein to pass laws that change the Constitution or infringe on citizens’ rights.

So says political scientist Dr Bishnu Ragoonath, who explained in an interview with the Sunday Express on May 10 that while the UNC’s numbers in the House of Representatives are significant, many critical pieces of legislation, particularly those impacting constitutional provisions or fundamental rights, require support from the Senate, where the Government does not have a special majority.

Ragoonath was speaking in the aftermath of the UNC’s resounding general election victory on April 28, in which the party secured 26 seats. The People’s National Movement won 13, while the Tobago People’s Party (TPP), led by Farley Augustine, claimed both Tobago constituencies.