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The politics of Trinidad and Tobago function within the framework of a unitary state regulated by a parliamentary democracy modelled on that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,from which the country gained its independence in 1962. Under the 1976 republican Constitution,the monarch was replaced as head of state by a President chosen by an electoral college composed of the members of the bicameral Parliament,consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The United National Congress is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago and the current parliamentary opposition. The UNC is a centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday,a Trinidadian lawyer,economist,trade unionist,and actor after a split in the ruling National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR). After spending six years in opposition,the UNC won control of the government in 1995,initially in coalition with the NAR and later on its own. In the 2000 general election,the UNC won an absolute majority in the Parliament. In 2001,a split in the party caused the UNC to lose its parliamentary majority and control of the government. From 2001 to 2010,the UNC was once again Parliamentary Opposition party. In May 2010,the UNC returned to government as the majority party in the People's Partnership. The UNC's Political Leader,Kamla Persad-Bissessar,was sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Kamla Persad-Bissessar was Prime Minister from 2010 until 2015.
Basdeo Panday was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian statesman,lawyer,politician,trade unionist,economist,and actor who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 1995 to 2001. He was the first person of Indian descent along with being the first Hindu to hold the office of Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. He was first elected to Parliament in 1976 as the Member for Couva North,Panday served as Leader of the Opposition four times between 1976 and 2010 and was a founding member of the United Labour Front (ULF),the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR),and the United National Congress (UNC). He served as leader of the ULF and UNC,and was President General of the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers' Trade Union from 1973 to 1995.
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–Talparo is the third-largest of Trinidad and Tobago's nine regions,with an area of 723 square kilometres (300 sq mi). As of 2011,the population was 178,410. The region is the second-most populous and fourth-least-densely populated region in Trinidad with 247 inhabitants per square kilometre (640/sq mi).
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 borders with the regions of San Juan–Laventille to the west,Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo to the south,the Borough of Chaguanas to the south-west,Sangre Grande to the east and the Caribbean Sea to the north. The region also completely surrounds the Royal Chartered Borough of Arima,which is located in the south-eastern corner of the region.
The Congress of the People (COP) is a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. Its current political leader is Kirt Sinnette. Its symbol is the "Circle of Circles".
General elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on 5 November 2007. Nomination day was 15 October. Five parties contested the elections;the ruling People's National Movement,the official opposition United National Congress–Alliance,the Congress of the People,the Tobago United Front–Democratic Action Congress and the Democratic National Assembly. Five independent candidates also ran.
At the ceremonial opening of the Tenth Republican Parliament on June 18,2010,the Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced that the date for the 2010 Local Elections was to be on July 26,2010.
The Independent Liberal Party was a political party of Trinidad and Tobago. It was formed in July 2013,after Jack Warner was not reselected as the candidate for the Chaguanas West by-election for the United National Congress (UNC) party. It was launched at a political rally,in Jubilee Grounds,Pierre Road,Chaguanas.
Local elections in Trinidad and Tobago were held on 2 December 2019,contesting 139 electoral districts across Trinidad's 14 municipal corporation electoral areas.
General elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on Monday,10 August 2020,to elect 41 members to the 12th Trinidad and Tobago Republican Parliament. It was the 14th election since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1962 and the 22nd national election in Trinidad and Tobago ever. Tracy Davidson-Celestine,political leader of the Tobago Council of the People's National Movement (PNM) became the first woman to lead a Tobagonian political party with representation in the House of Representatives. Additionally,two of the three largest parties elected in 2015,the United National Congress (UNC) and the Congress of the People (COP),were led by women.
House of Assembly elections were held in Tobago on 25 January 2021 where 12 members were elected in the eleventh election since the Assembly was established in 1980. This election marked the first time in history that both parties elected,the People's National Movement (PNM) and Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) won an equal number seats of 6-6,despite the PNM winning the popular vote,resulting in a deadlock and a constitutional crisis with both political parties and Prime Minister Keith Rowley seeking senior counsel advice on the way forward. This election was the first time after 20 years in power that the PNM lost its absolute majority. This election also marked the first time a female political leader was elected to the Assembly and the first time a woman led a major political party or a political party with representation in the Assembly,following the 2020 Tobago Council of the People's National Movement leadership election where Health Secretary,councillor and former Trinidad and Tobago Ambassador to Costa Rica and former Deputy Chief Secretary of Tobago Tracy Davidson-Celestine made history by being elected as the PNM's first female political leader at the regional or national level and one of the first bilingual political leaders in the country's history. If Davidson-Celestine and the PNM were to be elected with a majority to their sixth consecutive term in office,she would have made history,becoming the first female Chief Secretary of Tobago. The election was held alongside local by-elections in Trinidad in which the PNM and UNC retained two districts and the PNM losing one to the UNC.
The 2020United National Congress internal election was held on Sunday,6 December 2020,after Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar,the current leader of the UNC,faced losses commencing in January 2013 with the wipeout of her People's Partnership-led administration from the Tobago House of Assembly at the 2013 election,loss in the 2015 Trinidad and Tobago general election and loss in the 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election. The candidates for political leader were incumbent Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Team Star against former member of parliament for St. Augustine and former Minister of Trade,Industry and Investment in the People's Partnership's government,Vasant Bharath,on Team Lotus. Former senator and Minister of Transport in the People's Partnership's government,Devant Maharaj,was an early candidate for political leader,but was never formally nominated as he dropped out on nomination day on the 15th of November 2020,citing irregularities in the voting process. He endorsed Vasant Bharath and Team Lotus. Kamla Persad-Bissessar won with of 87.15% of the votes,while Vasant Bharath got 12.85% of the votes.
Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan is a Trinidad and Tobago politician and former leader of the Congress of the People. She was a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for San Fernando West from 2010 until 2015.
Snap House of Assembly elections were held in Tobago on 6 December 2021 to elect all 15 members of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA). The election was called following a deadlock created by the January 2021 elections which resulted in a tie between the People's National Movement (PNM) and the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP),with both parties winning six seats. As a result,the number of seats in the legislature was increased from 12 to 15 to avoid ties.
Anita Haynes is a Trinidad and Tobago politician representing the United National Congress. She has served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for Tabaquite since the 2020 general election. She was previously an Opposition Senator from 2017 to 2020. She is the first female MP for Tabaquite.
St. Augustine is a parliamentary electoral district in Trinidad and Tobago in the north of Trinidad. It has been represented since 2020 by Khadijah Ameen of the United National Congress.
Esmond Irving Forde is a Trinidad and Tobago politician representing the People's National Movement (PNM). He has served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for Tunapuna since the 2015 general election. He is the current Deputy Speaker of the House.
The 2023 Trinidadian local elections were held on Monday,August 14,2023,across all 141 electoral districts in Trinidad's 14 municipal corporation electoral areas. The elections follow a 3-2 ruling on May 18,2023,from the United Kingdom's Judicial Committee of the Privy Council,the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago's highest court of appeal,which stated that the government's one-year extension of the mandate of councillors and alderman was unlawful. The matter was brought before the Law Lords of the Privy Council by Ravi Balgobin Maharaj,and his legal team led by Anand Ramlogan,SC. The legal action taken by Ravi Balgobin Maharaj was necessary after the PNM government decided to extend the election by one year,which the Privy Council ruled was inconsistent with the rule of Democracy. The judgement handed down to Ravi Balgobin Maharaj by the Law Lords was a landmark ruling in the Commonwealth and marks the first time that a Court upheld the rights of citizens to vote in a Local Government Election.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 de Souza, Janelle (16 August 2020). "Khadijah: Women can lead TT". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday . Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 "Senator Khadijah Ameen | UNC: St Augustine". Trinidad Express . 10 July 2020. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- 1 2 3 4 "Vote Khadijah Ameen". United National Congress. 2 July 2013. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
- ↑ La Vende, Jensen (12 July 2020). "Ameen: I'm ready to serve my St Augustine family". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday . Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- 1 2 Alexander, Gail (26 July 2013). "Khadijah explains name: I was married". Trinidad and Tobago Guardian . Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- 1 2 Ranjitsingh, Aleah N. (2014). "Women's Political Leadership in Trinidad and Tobago: Understandings, Experiences, and Negotiations" (PDF). Politics, Power and Gender Justice in the Anglophone Caribbean: Women's Understandings of Politics, Experiences of Political Contestation and the Possibilities for Gender Transformation. Ottawa, Canada: International Development Research Centre.
- ↑ Taitt, Ria (30 July 2013). "Jack on Fire". Trinidad Express . Archived from the original on 4 August 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
- 1 2 "Ms. Khadijah Ameen, MP". Trinidad and Tobago Parliament. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ↑ Lindo, Paula (18 July 2020). "Candidates: St Augustine ripe for development". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday . Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ↑ Paul, Anna-Lisa (11 August 2020). "Ameen wins, ready to work in St Augustine". Trinidad and Tobago Guardian . Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ↑ "Khadijah Ameen: "forgive me if I have a passion for Local Government"". Trinidad and Tobago Guardian . 12 October 2021. Archived from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.