Trinidad and Tobago citizens cast their ballots in a general election Monday with Prime Minister Keith Rowley's governing People's National Movement (PNM) party ahead in the polls during a campaign hit by the coronavirus pandemic. In the most recent opinion poll in the island nation off Venezuela, the PNM was five percentage points ahead of the opposition United National Congress (UNC), led by former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. For many of the one million voters, the coronavirus pandemic and corruption have been two key issues on the campaign trail. Rowley, in power sine 2015, announced on Wednesday the closure of all primary schools after several pupils were infected. But facemasks were not compulsory in ballot stations on voting day. The twin-island republic is a first-past-the-post parliamentary democracy modeled on former colonial power Britain. Voters will elect the 41 members of the House of Representatives with the winning party's leader becoming prime minister. Among the candidates standing for seats is disgraced former FIFA vice president Austin "Jack" Warner, who is battling extradition to the United States to face charges of racketeering and conspiracy as part of a global graft probe into world football's governing body. He is one of 17 single candidates from separate political parties contesting the polls alongside the two main parties. All but one of the 41 seats in the 2015 election were won by either the PNM or UNC. The PNM ousted the UNC in 2015 by 23 seats to 17. Coronavirus cases have been increasing in the build-up to the election, with 67 people testing positive in the last two weeks. Rowley has promised not to re-impose lockdown measures but has said bars and restaurants could be closed to prevent virus spread. Many blame the new cases on the illegal trafficking of economic migrants from Venezuela. However, no Venezuelan national has been confirmed as positive among the new COVID-19 cases. The government has received praise regionally and internationally for its handling of the pandemic which has helped it enjoy a high approval rating. But in ethnically-diverse Trinidad and Tobago, politics remains largely divided along ethnic lines between the two main groups: African and Indian descendants. The majority of PNM supporters are of African descent with the UNC popular among those of South Asian background. First results are due by late Monday. str/bc/bgs