The politics of

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 ...

function within the framework of a

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 ...

regulated by a

parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

modelled on that of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, from which the country gained its independence in 1962. Under the 1976

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, the

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

was replaced as

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

by a

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

chosen by an electoral college composed of the members of the bicameral

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, consisting of the Senate and the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. The country has remained a member of the Commonwealth, and has retained the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Aug ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as its highest court of appeal. The general direction and control of the government rests with the Cabinet, led by a

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 i ...

. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are answerable to the House of Representatives. The 41 members of the House are elected to terms of at least five years. Elections may be called earlier by the president at the request of the prime minister or after a vote of no confidence in the House of Representatives. In 1976, the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18. The Senate's 31 members are appointed by the President: 16 on the advice of the prime minister, six on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and nine independents selected by the President from among outstanding members of the community. Local government is through nine Regional Corporations and five

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. Tobago was given a measure of self-government in 1980 and is governed by the

Tobago House of Assembly The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is a unicameral devolved legislative body responsible for the island of Tobago within the unitary state of Trinidad and Tobago. The THA was re-established in 1980

. In 1996, Parliament passed legislation which gave Tobago greater self-government. In 2005 Parliament approved a proposal by the independent Elections and Boundaries Commission to increase the number of seats in the House of Representatives from 36 to 41. Party politics has generally run along ethnic lines, with most

Afro-Trinidadian Afro-Trinidadians and Tobagonians (or just Afro-Trinbagonians) are people from Trinidad and Tobago who are of West African descent. Social interpretations of race in Trinidad and Tobago are often used to dictate who is of West African descent ...

s supporting 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) and most

Indo-Trinidadian Indo-Trinidadians and Tobagonians or Indian-Trinidadians and Tobagonians, are people of Indian origin who are nationals of Trinidad and Tobago whose ancestors came from India and the wider subcontinent beginning in 1845. Indo-Trinidadians and ...

s supporting various Indian-majority parties, such as the current

United National Congress The United National Congress ( UNC or UNCTT) is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago and the current parliamentary opposition. The UNC is a Centre-left politics, centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a ...

(UNC) or its predecessors. Most political parties, however, have sought to broaden their purview. In the run-up to the 2007 general election, a new political presence emerged called Congress of The People (COP). Led by

Winston Dookeran Winston Chandarbhan Dookeran (; born 24 June 1943) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician and economist as well as international public official. Dookeran is the current Secretary-General of EUCLID, an intergovernmental institution of higher ...

, the majority of this membership was formed from former UNC members. Despite gaining a significant but minority share of the vote in various constituencies, the COP failed to capture a single seat. An early general election was called on 16 April 2010, and was held on 24 May 2010. Two major entities contested the election: the incumbent PNM, and a coalition called the

People's Partnership The People's Partnership (PP) was a political coalition in Trinidad and Tobago among five political parties: the United National Congress (UNC), the Congress of the People (COP), the Tobago Organization of the People (TOP), Movement for Social ...

, led by UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, comprising the UNC, COP,

Tobago Organisation of the People The Tobago Organisation of the People (TOP) is an autonomist political party in Tobago formed in 2008. Its current political leader is Ashworth Jack. The party was formed in 2008 from a split with the Democratic Action Congress. The TOP contested ...

(TOP), and two labour and non-governmental organisations: the

National Joint Action Committee The National Joint Action Committee (NJAC) is a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. History The party was established in February 1969 by Makandal Daaga Makandal Akhenation Daaga (born Geddes Granger; 13 August 1935 – 8 August 2016) was ...

and the Movement for Social Justice. The People's Partnership won 29 seats and the majority, with Kamla Persad-Bissessar being sworn in as the country's first female Prime Minister on 26 May 2010. The PNM won the remaining 12 seats and comprised the opposition in parliament. After the period a new party also emerged from an ex-member of the

, known as the Independent Liberal Party which was founded by FIFA ex-vice president Jack Warner. In the 2015 general election resulted in a victory for the

, which won 23 of the 41 seats led by

Keith Rowley Keith Christopher Rowley (born 24 October 1949) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician serving as the seventh prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, first elected into office on 9 September 2015 and again following the 2020 general elect ...

Executive branch

Paula-Mae Weekes Paula-Mae Weekes (born 23 December 1958) is a Trinidadian politician and jurist who is the sixth president of Trinidad and Tobago. She is the first female President of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the second female head of state in Trinidad 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 ...

, 19 March 2018 , - ,

, 9 September 2015 The President is elected by an electoral college, which consists of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, for a five-year term. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President from among the members of Parliament; following legislative elections, the person with the most support among the elected members of the House of Representatives is appointed Prime Minister, usually the leader of the winning party. The cabinet is appointed from among the Members of Parliament, which constitutes elected Members of the House of Representatives and appointed Members of the Senate Cabinet ministers of Trinidad and Tobago *Prime Minister:

*Minister of Finance:

Colm Imbert Colm Imbert is the Minister of Finance since September 2015 and Member of Parliament for the constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division ...

*Attorney-General:

Reginald Armour Reginald Armour is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian lawyer who has served as Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago since March 16, 2022. He was named by Prime Minister Keith Rowley to replace Faris Al-Rawi. Upon his appointment, questions were asked ...

*Minister of National Security:

Fitzgerald Hinds The FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the ...

*Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs: Amery Browne *Minister of Planning and Sustainable Development:

Pennelope Beckles Pennelope Althea Beckles-Robinson (born 12 September 1961) is a Trinidad and Tobago attorney and politician. She has served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for Arima since the 2020 general election. She is the current M ...

*Minister of Trade and Industry:

Paula Gopee-Scoon Paula Gopee-Scoon (born 18 April 1958) is a representative of Point Fortin and a government minister in Trinidad and Tobago. Formerly Minister of Foreign Affairs for Trinidad and Tobago from 2007 to 2010, she was appointed the Minister of Trade a ...

*Minister of Energy and Energy Industries: Stuart Young *Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts: Randall Mitchell *Minister of Local Government and Rural Development: Faris Al Rawi *Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries: Kazim Hosein *Minister of Housing and Urban Development:

Camille Robinson-Regis Camille Robinson-Regis is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian lawyer and politician, representing the People's National Movement. She was first elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for Arouca South in 1992 and is the curren ...

*Minister of Works and Transport: Rohan Sinanan *Minister of Public Utilities: Marvin Gonzales *Minister of Public Administration and Digital Transformation: Allyson West *Minister of Health: Terrence Deyalsingh *Minister of Education: Nyan Gadsby-Dolly *Minister of Labour and Small Enterprise Development: Stephen McClashie *Minister of Social Development and Family Services:

Donna Cox Donna J. Cox is an American artist and scientist, Michael Aiken Endowed Chair; Professor of Art + Design; Director, Advanced Visualization Lab at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC); Director, Visualization and Experimental Tech ...

*Minister of Sports and Community Development: Shamfa Cudjoe *Minister of Youth Development and National Services:

Foster Cummings Foster Cummings (born in 1973) is a Trinidad and Tobago politician representing the People's National Movement. He has served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for La Horquetta/Talparo since the 2020 general election. H ...

*Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister: Stuart Young *Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister: Ayanna Webster-Roy *Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister: Symon De Nobrega *Minister in the Ministry of Finance: Brian Manning *Minister in the Office of the Attorney-General: Renuka Sagramsingh-Sooklal *Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries: Avinash Singh *Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries (Lands):

Nigel de Freitas Nigel ( ) is an English masculine given name. The English ''Nigel'' is commonly found in records dating from the Middle Ages; however, it was not used much before being revived by 19th-century antiquarians. For instance, Walter Scott published ...

*Minister in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development: Adrian Leonce *Minister in the Ministry of Education: Lisa Morris-Julian *Minister in the Ministry of Public Administration:

Hassel Bacchus Hassel may refer to: Places *Hassel (Bergen), a municipality in the borough of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Germany *Hassel (Weser), a municipality in the district of Nienburg, Lower Saxony, Germany *Hassel, Saxony-Anhalt, a municipality in the district o ...

Following the 2015 general elections, a number of ministries were removed, while others were consolidated or reintroduced.

Legislative branch

The

Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. The Parliament is bicameral. Besides the President of Trinidad and Tobago, it is composed of the House of Representatives, which is compos ...

has two

chambers Chambers may refer to: Places Canada: *Chambers Township, Ontario United States: *Chambers County, Alabama * Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County * Chambers, Nebraska * Chambers, West Virginia * Chambers Township, Hol ...

. The

has 41 members, elected for a five-year term in single-seat

constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

. The Senate has 31 members: 16 Government Senators appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, six Opposition Senators appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and nine Independent Senators appointed by the President to represent other sectors of civil society. The 15 member

has limited autonomy with respect to

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 ...

Party division by Parliamentary session

The following tables lists the party divisions for the

and

. Note that numbers in boldface denote the majority party at that particular time while italicized numbers signify a House in which the majority party changed intra-term.

Tobago House of Assembly

Partisan control of Parliament

This table shows the number of Parliaments in which a party controlled the

and

Tobago House of Assembly

Judicial branch

The country's highest court is the Court of Appeal, whose chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. The current Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago is Ivor Archie. Final appeal on some matters is decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in

. Trinidad and Tobago was chosen by its Caribbean neighbours ( Caricom) to be the headquarters site of the

Caribbean Court of Justice The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ; nl, Caribisch Hof van Justitie; french: Cour Caribéenne de Justice) is the judicial institution of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Established in 2005, it is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. ...

(CCJ) which was supposed to replace the

in the fall of 2003. However, the government has been unable to pass legislation to effect this change.

Administrative divisions

Trinidad is divided in five Municipalities

Arima Arima, officially The Royal Chartered Borough of Arima is the easternmost and second largest in area of the three boroughs of Trinidad and Tobago. It is geographically adjacent to Sangre Grande and Arouca at the south central foothills of th ...

Chaguanas The Borough of Chaguanas is the largest municipality (83,489 at the 2011 census) and fastest-growing
– Afra ...

, Port of Spain,

Point Fortin Point Fortin, officially the Republic Borough of Point Fortin, the smallest Borough in Trinidad and Tobago is located in southwestern Trinidad, about southwest of San Fernando, in the historic county of Saint Patrick. After the discovery of p ...

, San Fernando and nine Regional Corporations

Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo is one of the nine regions of Trinidad and Tobago, and one of the five regions which form the Gulf of Paria coastline on Trinidad's West Coast. Its regional capital and commercial center is Couva. Couva–Tabaquite–Tal ...

Diego Martin Diego Martin is a town and is the urban commercial center and capital of the Diego Martin region in Trinidad and Tobago. Its location in the region is just on the south eastern border, west of the capital city of Port of Spain and east of the t ...

Penal–Debe Penal–Debe region is a region of Trinidad. The local government body is Penal–Debe Regional Corporation, a Regional Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago. The region has a land area of 246.91 km². Urban areas within Penal–Debe include ...

Princes Town Princes Town is a town within the Princes Town Regional Corporation, located on southern Trinidad island in Trinidad and Tobago. The population of the town is 28,335. History Founded as the Amerindian '' Mission of Savana Grande'', the town ...

, Mayaro–Rio Claro,

San Juan–Laventille San Juan–Laventille is a region of Trinidad. It has a land area of 220.39 km². The San Juan–Laventille Regional Corporation is headquartered at MTS Plaza in Aranguez, San Juan. Other urban areas include Barataria, Laventille Laventill ...

Sangre Grande Sangre Grande is the largest town in northeastern Trinidad and Tobago. It is located east of Arima and southwest of the village of Toco. It is the seat of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation and capital of the region. Overview and history ...

Siparia Siparia is a town in southern Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago, south of San Fernando, southwest of Penal and Debe and southeast of Fyzabad. Also called "The Sand City", it was originally a non- Mission Amerindian settlement. Siparia grew to be ...

, and

Tunapuna–Piarco Tunapuna–Piarco is one of the 9 regions of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the most populous region in the country by total population and the fifth-largest by total land area. Geographically located in Northern Trinidad, Tunapuna–Piarco shares its ...

. Local government in Tobago is handled by the

International organization participation

ACP, C, Caricom, CDB,

ECLAC The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as ECLAC, UNECLAC or in Spanish and Portuguese CEPAL, is a United Nations regional commission to encourage economic cooperation. ECLAC includes 46 member States (2 ...

FAO The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

, G-24, G-77, IADB,

IBRD The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is an international financial institution, established in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, that is the lending arm of World Bank Group. The IBRD offers l ...

, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA,

IFAD The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD; french: link=no, Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA)) is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that works to addres ...

, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat,

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

, ITU,

ITUC The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); german: Internationaler Gewerkschaftsbund (IGB), link=no; es, Confederación Sindical Internacional (CSI), link=no. is the world's largest trade union federation. History The federation w ...

, LAES, NAM,

OAS OAS or Oas may refer to: Chemistry * O-Acetylserine, amino-acid involved in cysteine synthesis Computers * Open-Architecture-System, the main user interface of Wersi musical keyboards * OpenAPI Specification (originally Swagger Specification) ...

, OPANAL,

OPCW The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force on 29 April 1997. The OPCW, with its 193 member s ...

, UN,

UNCTAD The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

UNIDO The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in ...

UNU ''unu'' (Romanian for "one"; lower case used on purpose) was the name of an avant-garde art and literary magazine, published in Romania from April 1928 to December 1932. Edited by writers Sașa Pană and Moldov, it was dedicated to Dada and Su ...

, UPU, WCO, WFTU,

WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book '' Horton He ...

WIPO The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishin ...

, WMO, WTrO

References

External links

The Elections and Boundaries Commission (EB&C)
Trinidad and Tobago {{Americas topic, Politics of