Caribbean Elections - Trinidad and Tobago Elections

Overview of Electoral System

Here, we provide an overview of the electoral system in the country. Additional information may be found in the Country Browser.

Head of State	President elected by electoral college or committee.
Head of Government	Prime Minister is appointed by the President. The President usually appoints the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives.
Structure of Parliament	Bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate with 31 seats and the House of Representatives with 41 seats.
Electoral Law	-
Constituencies	41 single-member constituencies.
Voting System	The President is elected by electoral college to serve a 5-year term. In the Senate, 16 members are appointed by the ruling party, 9 members are appointed by the president, and 6 members are appointed by the opposition party. All members serve 5-year terms. In the House of Representatives 41 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms.
Term of Office	5 years
Voter Requirements	- age: 18 years - Trinidad and Tobago citizens - residence in country for at least one year and in home district and for at least two months prior to poll - disqualifications: insanity, electoral offence, sentence of death or imprisonment exceeding 12 months
Candidate Eligibility and Requirements	- age: 18 years - Trinidad and Tobago citizenship - residence in country for at least two years immediately before nomination or on election date - ineligibility: allegiance to a foreign State, undischarged bankruptcy, insanity, sentence of death or imprisonment exceeding 12 months, conviction for election-connected offence - nomination by six or more registered electors of the constituency (district) - deposit of TT$ 5000.00, which is reimbursed if the candidate polls at least one-eighth of the vote in his district
Electoral Authority	Elections and Boundaries Commission
Last Elections	7 September 2015
Next Elections	September 20202

Political Parties

Here, we provide information on active political parties. A more comprehensive list of political parties may be found in our Knowledge Centre.

Party	Political Leader
Congress of the People or COP	Prakash RAMADHAR
Democratic Action Congress or DAC	Hochoy CHARLES
Democratic National Alliance or DNA(coalition of NAR, DDPT, MND)	Gerald YETMING
Movement for National Development or MND	Garvin NICHOLAS
People's National Movement or PNM	Keith ROWLEY
Tobago Organization of the People or TOP	Ashworth JACK
United National Congress or UNC	Kamla PERSAD-BISSESSAR

Past Elections

Here, we provide links to results of past elections. This list is not all inclusive; we will continue to update the list and encourage you to assist us in filling any observed gaps. Notify us if you think a resource listed here has become deceptive or unfactual.

Date	Election Type	Winning Party	% Votes by Winning Party	Seats	Total Seats	Voter Turnout	View Results
28 Oct 1946	Parliamentary	No clear winner	-	-	9	52.92%
18 Sep 1950	Parliamentary	British Empire Citizens' and Workers' Home Rule Party	22.07%	6	18	70.10%
24 Sep 1956	Parliamentary	People's National Movement	39.61%	13	24	80.64%
4 Dec 1961	Parliamentary	People's National Movement	57.00%	20	30	88.11%
7 Nov 1966	Parliamentary	People's National Movement	52.44%	24	36	65.79%
24 May 1971	Parliamentary	People's National Movement	84.14%	36	36	33.17%
13 Sep 1976	Parliamentary	People's National Movement	54.23%	24	36	55.83%
9 Sep 1981	Parliamentary	People's National Movement	52.95%	26	36	56.43%
15 Dec 1986	Parliamentary	National Alliance for Reconstruction	66.29%	33	36	65.45%
15 Dec 1991	Parliamentary	People's National Movement	45.07%	21	36	65.45%
6 Nov 1995	Parliamentary	United National Congress + National Alliance for Reconstruction	50.51%	19	36	63.30%
11 Dec 2000	Parliamentary	United National Congress	51.74%	19	36	63.05%
10 Dec 2001	Parliamentary	People's National Movement	46.51%	18	36	68.36%
7 Oct 2002	Parliamentary	People's National Movement	50.89%	20	36	69.64%
5 Nov 2007	Parliamentary	People's National Movement	46.01%	26	41	69.64%
24 May 2010	Parliamentary	People's Partnership	60.03%	29	41	69.45%
7 Sep 2015	Parliamentary	People's National Movement	51.68%	23	41	66.84%

Source: Elections and Boundaries Commission of Trinidad and Tobago

Election Reports

Here, we provide official reports of past elections and reports from election observation missions. This list is not all inclusive; we will continue to update the list and encourage you to suggest other resources you think we should list here. You may also view our collection of Election Observer Reports in our Reading Room.

Year	Report	Download
2015	Final Report issed by the Commonwealth Observer Group to the General Elections in Trinidad and Tobago on 7 September 2015
	Interim Statement issed by the Commonwealth Observer Group to the General Elections in Trinidad and Tobago on 7 September 2015
	Preliminary Statement issed by the CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission to the General Elections in Trinidad and Tobago on 7 September 2015
2001	Preliminary Statement issed by the CARICOM Electoral Observer Mission to the General Elections in Trinidad and Tobago on 10 December 2001
2000	The Trinidad and Tobago General Election 11 December 2000 - Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group

Party Manifestos

Here, we provide party manifestos from previous elections. This list is not all inclusive; we will continue to update the list and encourage you to suggest other resources you think we should list here. You may also view our collection of manifestos in our Reading Room.

PEOPLE'S NATIONAL MOVEMENT (PNM)

PNM 2015 Manifesto	PNM 2010 Manifesto	PNM 2007 Manifesto

PEOPLE'S PARTNERSHIP (PP)

PP 2015 Manifesto	PP 2013 Local Government Manifesto	PP 2010 Manifesto	PP 2010 Local Government Manifesto

INDEPENDENT LIBERAL PARTY (ILP)

ILP 2015 Manifesto	ILP 2013 Local Government Manifesto

NEW NATIONAL VISION (NNV)

NNV 2015 Manifesto

TOBAGO FORWARDS (TF)

Tobago Forwards 2015 Manifesto

CONGRESS OF THE PEOPLE (COP)

COP 2007 Manifesto

MOVEMENT FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE (MSJ)

MSJ 2013 Manifesto

TOBAGO ORGANISATION OF THE PEOPLE (TOP)

TOP 2013 Manifesto