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.
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 since 1956 serving as the nation's governing party or on four occasions, the main opposition. As a result, it has sometimes been referred to as Trinidad and Tobago's "main political party". There have been four PNM Prime Ministers and multiple ministries. The party espouses the principles of liberalism and generally sits at the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum.
Trinidad and Tobago is divided into nine regional corporation, three boroughs, two city corporations and one ward.
Anand Ramlogan is a member of the Bar of Trinidad and Tobago, England & Wales and the British Virgin Islands. He is the founder and head of Freedom Law Chambers which is based in the city of San Fernando, Trinidad. He served as junior counsel to the late Sir Fenton Ramsahoye QC in whose footsteps he followed to become the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago during the period 28 May 2010 – 2 February 2015. As Attorney General, he was also the titular head of the bar.
Elections to the Tobago House of Assembly have taken place every 4–5 years since its establishment in 1980. There are twelve electoral districts, each electing one representative. The People's National Movement has been successful in all five elections between 2001 and 2017. Between 1980 and 1996, parties achieving a majority were the Democratic Action Congress and the National Alliance for Reconstruction.
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.
The January2021 Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election was held 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 Progressive Party is a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party was founded on June 16, 2019 by former independent senator Nikoli Edwards to contest the 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election. The Progressives currently do not hold any seats in the House of Representatives, Regional municipalities, Regional corporations or in the Tobago House of Assembly.
As of 2021, the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago has 41 parliamentary constituencies across the constituent islands, each electing a single Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Representatives by the plurality system of election, ordinarily every five years. Voting last took place in all 41 of those constituencies at the Trinidad and Tobago general election on 7 September 2015, and these results have been counted and verified.
San Fernando East is a parliamentary electoral district in the city of San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago.
The Tobago Council of the People's National Movement (PNM), also known as the Tobago Council of the PNM, PNM Tobago or PNM Tobago Council is the longest-serving and oldest active political party in Tobago. The party is the autonomous branch of the Trinidad and Tobago People's National Movement operating in Tobago. While its political leader acts in the local capacity, they also serve as a deputy leader on a national level. The party's executives organize for both local and national election campaigns. There have been three PNM Chief Secretaries and administrations.
Eden Arthur Shand was a Trinidadian environmentalist and politician. He worked toward establishing environmental standards in Trinidad and Tobago.
Tobago East is a parliamentary electoral district in Trinidad and Tobago, comprising the eastern part of Tobago.
Tobago West is a parliamentary electoral district in Trinidad and Tobago, comprising the western part of Tobago. It is currently represented by Shamfa Cudjoe.
Arima is a parliamentary electoral district in Trinidad and Tobago in the north of Trinidad, including part of the borough of Arima. It is currently represented by Pennelope Beckles.
La Horquetta/Talparo is a parliamentary electoral district in Trinidad and Tobago in the centre of Trinidad. It has been represented since 2020 by Foster Cummings of the People's National Movement.
Pointe-à-Pierre is a parliamentary electoral district in Trinidad and Tobago on the south-west coast of Trinidad. It has been represented since the 2015 general election by David Lee of the United National Congress.
House of Assembly elections were held in Tobago on 6 December 2021, to elect all 15 members of the Tobago House of Assembly. 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 potential ties in the future.
