The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...

legislative body responsible for the island of

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

within the

unitary state A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only th ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. The THA was re-established in 1980Tobago Division Of Tourism - About Tobago, Governance
to rectify some of the disparities in the relationship between the two islands, though a prior body using the same name existed from 1768 to 1874. In addition to the normal local government functions the THA handles many of the responsibilities of the

central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...

, but has limited ability to collect taxes and impose local law or zoning regulations. At the helm of the Assembly Legislature is the Presiding Officer with the fifteen elected assemblymen, and four appointed councillors. Three of the councillors are appointed on the advice on the Chief Secretary and one on the advice of the Minority Leader. The Chief Secretary is the leader of the majority party in the assembly and is at the helm of the Executive arm of the THA.About the Assembly (THA)
Tobago House of Assembly The current Chief Secretary of Tobago is Farley Chavez Augustine who is the second youngest Chief Secretary in history, in office since December 6, 2021. He was elected as a member of the PDP but left the party to become an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

in 2022.

History

The first THA elections were held on November 24, 1980. The

Democratic Action Congress The Democratic Action Congress (DAC) was a Tobago-based political party in Trinidad and Tobago. History The party was established in 1971 by A. N. R. Robinson, and was originally an autonomist party. It first contested general elections in 1976, ...

led by

A.N.R. Robinson Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson (16 December 1926 – 9 April 2014; known as A. N. R. or "Ray" Robinson), was the third President of Trinidad and Tobago, serving from 19 March 1997 to 17 March 2003. He was also Trinidad and Tobago's third Prime ...

won eight seats and the

People's National Movement The People's National Movement (PNM) is the longest-serving and oldest active political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party has dominated national and local politics for much of Trinidad and Tobago's history, contesting all elections sinc ...

(PNM) won four seats (a reversal of the 1977 County Council elections in which the PNM won seven seats and the DAC 4). The DAC went on to win the 1984 elections by a margin of 11–1 over the PNM. The

National Alliance for Reconstruction The National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) was the governing party in Trinidad and Tobago between 1986 and 1991. The party has been inactive since 2005. History The party was established in 1986, aiming to be a multi-racial party. Nohlen, D ...

(into which the DAC merged in 1986) continued to dominate the THA winning the 1988 elections, and the 1992 elections by an 11-1 margin over the PNM. It won the 1996 elections by a margin of 10–2, with the PNM and an independent candidate winning one seat each. In the 2001 elections the PNM gained control of the THA, winning 8 seats to the NAR's four. The PNM consolidated their hold on the THA in the January 2005 elections winning 11 seats while the DAC (which reformed after splintering from the NAR in 2004) gained a single seat. In the

2009 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2009. * Electoral calendar 2009 * 2009 United Nations Security Council election Caribbean * 2009 Antiguan general election * 2009 Aruban general election * 2009 Caymanian constitutional referendu ...

held on January 19, 2009, the PNM won 8 seats while a new party, the Tobago Organization of the People won 4 seats. In the 2013 elections, the TOP was defeated in a landslide by the PNM, losing the 4 seats it held previously, giving the PNM complete control of the THA. However, Chief Secretary Orville London asked

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Kamla Persad-Bissessar Kamla Persad-Bissessar ( ; born Kamla Susheila Persad, 22 April 1952), often referred to by her initials KPB, is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian lawyer, politician and educator who is the Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago, politic ...

to introduce a bill in the country's parliament that would change the country's constitution to allow the President of the Republic to choose two independent councillors at his/her discretion to serve as opposition in the THA in the event of a 12-0 election result. As of 2021, the THA employed about 60% of Tobago's working population. In December 2022, 13 members of the PDP left the party to govern as independents.

Current Assembly Members

Party Divisions by Assembly

References

External links

* {{Authority control Government of Trinidad and Tobago Tobago Legislatures of country subdivisions

History

Current Assembly Members

Party Divisions by Assembly

See also

References

External links