Manning says it was an error; he didn't vote with the government on Friday

Former Prime Minister Patrick Manning has denied that he voted with the government on Friday on a motion to allow Energy Minister Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan additional speaking time to conclude a statement to Parliament.

When the vote was taken, the count was 27 for the government and nine for the opposition. At the time there were 26 government members present and 10 opposition MPs. The Speaker declared the additional vote came from Manning.

However Manning disputed that Saturday in a media release.

He said, "An unfortunate error took place in Parliament yesterday (Friday) regarding my vote on a motion to allow the Minister of Energy and Energy Affairs to complete a statement before the adjournment of the House.

"This matter has received considerable attention in the media, with one front page headline saying my vote went to the Government. I wish to make it absolutely clear that I did not vote with the Government. I voted with my colleagues in the Opposition against the motion.

"The problem arose when, immediately after my vote, I responded in the affirmative to a query from the Government benches, and in the parliamentary cross-talk, my vote was inaccurately recorded as being in support of the motion. I recognised the potential for misinterpretation and immediately took steps to have the error corrected. I therefore did not vote with the Government on this matter."

Manning said he would never have supported a motion to allow Seepersad-Bachan more time to speak. "I could never have supported the Minister's deception...What I would certainly support today and tomorrow, is the immediate departure of this disastrous government from their mismanagement of Trinidad and Tobago."