Tobago House of Assembly

Tobago House of Assembly
12th Assembly
Emblem of the Tobago House of Assembly
Flag of the Tobago House of Assembly
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Presiding Officer	Abby Taylor since 9 December 2021
Chief Secretary	Farley Chavez Augustine,TPP since 9 December 2021
Minority Leader	Kelvon Morris, PNM since 9 December 2021
Structure
Seats	15
Political groups	Government   Tobago People's Party (13) Opposition   Progressive Democratic Patriots (1)   People's National Movement (1)
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	6 December 2021
Meeting place
Assembly Legislative Chambers, Jermingham Street, Scarborough, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago
Website
https://www.tha.gov.tt/

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 ^[1] to rectify some of the disparities in the relationship between the two islands; a prior body of the same name existed from 1768 to 1874. ^[2] In addition to the normal local government functions, the THA handles many of the responsibilities of the central government, but has limited ability to collect taxes and to 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. ^[3]

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 first become an independent in 2022, then later setting up his own political party the Tobago People's Party.

History

The first THA elections were held on November 24, 1980. The Democratic Action Congress led by A.N.R. Robinson won eight seats and the People's National Movement (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 (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 held on January 19, 2009, the PNM won 8 seats while a new party, the Tobago Organization of the People won 4 seats. ^[4]

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. ^[5] However, Chief Secretary Orville London asked Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar 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. ^[6]

As of 2021, the THA employed about 60% of Tobago's working population. ^[7]

The Assembly was expanded to 15 members from the December 2021 election. ^[8]

In December 2022, 13 members of the PDP left the party to govern as independents in 2022, and in 2023 set up the Tobago People's Party. ^{[9] [10]}

Current Assembly Members

Incumbent		Party	Electoral District
	Natisha Charles Pantin	TPP	Bagatelle/Bacolet
	Watson Duke	PDP	Roxborough/Argyle
	Terance Baynes	TPP	Bethel/New Grange
	Kelvon Morris	PNM	Darrell Spring/Whim
	Sonny Grieg	TPP	Buccoo/Mount Pleasant
	Joel Sampson	TPP	Bon Accord/Crown Point
	Faith B. Yisrael	TPP	Belle Garden/Glamorgan
	Nigel Taitt	TPP	Signal Hill/Patience Hill
	Farley Chavez Augustine	TPP	Parlatuvier/L’Anse Fourmi/Speyside
	Zorisha Hackett	TPP	Bethesda/Les Coteaux
	Ian Pollard	TPP	Mason Hall/Moriah
	Trevor James	TPP	Scarborough/Mt Grace
	Megan Morrison	TPP	Mt St George/Goodwood
	Wane Clarke	TPP	Lambeau/Lowlands
	Niall George	TPP	Plymouth/Black Rock

Party Divisions by Assembly

Session	Election	PNM	[[Progressive Democratic Patriots|PDP]]		Total seats
12th	Monday, 6 December 2021	1	14		15
11th	Monday, 25 January 2021	6	6		12
10th	Monday, 23 January 2017	10	2		12
Session	Election	PNM			Total seats
9th	Monday, 21 January 2013	12			12
Session	Election	PNM	TOP		Total seats
8th	Monday, 19 January 2009	8	4		12
Session	Election	PNM	DAC		Total seats
7th	Monday, 17 January 2005	11	1		12
Session	Election	PNM	NAR		Total seats
6th	Monday, 29 January 2001	8	4		12
Session	Election	PNM	NAR	Independent	Total seats
5th	Monday, 9 December 1996	1	10	1	12
4th	Monday, 7 December 1992	1	11		12
3rd	Tuesday, 29 November 1988	1	11		12
Session	Election	PNM	DAC		Total seats
2nd	Monday, 26 November 1984	1	11		12
1st	Monday, 24 November 1980	4	8		12

Election Year		Chairman		Summary	PNM	DAC	Independent	Total seats
1st	1980	A. N. R. Robinson (1926-2014)		DAC wins control of the House of Assembly under A. N. R. Robinson, forming the first Tobagonian government.	4	8		12
Election Year		Chairman		Summary	PNM	DAC	Independent	Total seats
2nd	1984	A. N. R. Robinson (1926-2014)		DAC forms another government under A. N. R. Robinson. The DAC merges with other political parties to form the NAR.	1	11		12
Election Year		Chairman		Summary	PNM	NAR	Independent	Total seats
3rd	1988	Jefferson Davidson (c. 1938-2023)		NAR forms another government under Jefferson Davidson.	1	11		12
Election Year		Chairman		Summary	PNM	NAR	Independent	Total seats
4th	1992	Lennox Denoon (1930–2007)		NAR forms another government under Lennox Denoon.	1	11		12
Election Year		Chairman		Summary	PNM	NAR	Independent	Total seats
5th	1996	Hochoy Charles (1946–2023)		NAR forms another government under Hochoy Charles.	1	10	1	12
Election Year		Chief Secretary		Summary	PNM	NAR	Independent	Total seats
6th	2001	Orville London (1945– )		PNM forms its first government under Orville London.	8	4		12
Election Year		Chief Secretary		Summary	PNM	DAC	Independent	Total seats
7th	2005	Orville London (1945– )		PNM forms another government under Orville London.	11	1		12
Election Year		Chief Secretary		Summary	PNM	TOP	Independent	Total seats
8th	2009	Orville London (1945– )		PNM forms another government under Orville London.	8	4		12
Election Year		Chief Secretary		Summary	PNM	TOP	Independent	Total seats
9th	2013	Orville London (1945– )		PNM forms another government under Orville London.	12	0		12
Election Year		Chief Secretary		Summary	PNM	PDP	Independent	Total seats
10th	2017	Kelvin Charles (1957– ) Ancil Dennis (1987– )		PNM forms another government under Kelvin Charles.	10	2		12
Election Year		Chief Secretary		Summary	PNM	PDP	Independent	Total seats
11th	2021 (January)	Ancil Dennis (1987– )		First deadlock in the history of the assembly. PNM forms a caretaker government under Ancil Dennis.	6	6		12
Election Year		Chief Secretary		Summary	PNM	PDP	Independent	Total seats
12th	2021 (December)	Farley Chavez Augustine (1985– )		PDP forms its first government under Farley Chavez Augustine.	1	14		15

See also

• Chief Secretary of Tobago
• List of Presiding Officers of the Tobago House of Assembly
• Local government in Trinidad and Tobago
• Politics of Trinidad and Tobago

References

1. Tobago Division Of Tourism – About Tobago, Governance Archived 2007-07-10 at the Wayback Machine
2. Dupont, Jerry (2001). "Trinidad and Tobago". The common law abroad: constitutional and legal legacy of the British empire. William S. Hein Publishing. pp. 295–303. ISBN   0-8377-3125-9 . Retrieved 26 July 2010.
3. About the Assembly (THA), Tobago House of Assembly
4. Staff (22 January 2009). "TOP gains ground, but unhappy with illegal advertising". Trinidad and Tobago Guardian . Retrieved 10 April 2009.
5. Staff (21 January 2013). "CLEAN SWEEP". Trinidad and Tobago Express . Retrieved 21 January 2013.
6. Staff (24 January 2013). "Orville wants 2 neutral voices". Trinidad and Tobago Express . Retrieved 24 January 2013.
7. "Chief Secretary: Vaccine mandate a recipe for disaster". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
8. "Back to the THA polls for Tobago – DEC 6 TO BREAK 6-6 TIE". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
9. "Mass resignation from PDP of Farley and team: Tobago now run by Independents". Trinidad Express . 5 December 2022.
10. "Augustine launches new Tobago party, calls for general election". Trinidad and Tobago Guardian . 14 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.

External links

• Official website