Rather, to follow the reports out of that twin-island Caribbean Community neighbour, the voters are seemingly being offered a choice between so-called white-collar crimes and criminal violence.

What a sad, tragic situation for a leading member state of the Community whose stability and progress understandably hold deep interest for the other CARICOM partners, among them Barbados.

Long before Prime Minister Patrick Manning announced October 7 as the date for new general election, the focus was on corruption in public life with the de facto opposition United National Congress and its leader, Basdeo Panday, pushed on the defensive.

Going after "white collar" crime was the talk of the country. Then, dramatically, the scenario suddenly changed, and the UNC and its leader went on the offensive against Manning and his People's National Movement (PNM). It was the result of a political blunder, a shocking miscalculation by the Prime Minister that could yet prove costly at the polls, unless sensibly handled.

To the surprise of even his top party colleagues, Manning announced that he would be releasing some five acres of State land to the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen of Yasin Abu Bakr. Contrary to the Jamaat's claim, the Court had ruled the land to be legally owned by the State.

Confronted with a barrage of fierce criticisms from the media, social commentators, the opposition parties and even from influential PNM colleagues, Manning quickly rescinded his decision. But the damage was already done.

Abu Bakr added to the PNM's troubles by announcing that he would still be campaigning for that party's return to power. He lost no time lampooning all who he considers "enemies" of his organisation as he ridiculed the UNC and praised Manning's PNM.

Clearly bent on creating as much political mischief as possible, he even declared that he and President ANR Robinson "are now friends again" -- the same Robinson who was his best known hostage during the Jamaat's abortive coup of July 1990.

President Robinson quickly repudiated Abu Bakr's claim of "friendship", dismissing him with contempt. And the UNC was to seize on what it claims to be "a conspiracy" between the PNM and the Jamaat and warned of serious post-election consequences.

Commentators and letter writers in the Trinidad and Tobago media have been raising the spectre of Abu Bakr's influence on a government in Port-of-Spain, with all that it connotes for stability. For its part, the PNM has been left with the huge task of damage control as it seeks to distance itself from the embrace of the Jamaat and its leader.