Caribbean Elections - Trinidad and Tobago Elections


	OVERVIEW OF ELECTORAL SYSTEM

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 36 seats.
Electoral Law	-
Constituencies	36 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 36 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	24 May 2010
Next Elections	May 2015


	POLITICAL PARTIES

Congress of the People or COP [Winston DOOKERAN]

Democratic Action Congress or DAC [Hochoy CHARLES] (only active in Tobago)

Democratic National Alliance or DNA [Gerald YETMING] (coalition of NAR, DDPT, MND)

Movement for National Development or MND [Garvin NICHOLAS]

National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Dr. Carson CHARLES]

People's National Movement or PNM [Patrick MANNING]

Tobago Organization of the People or TOP [Ashworth JACK]

United National Congress or UNC [Kamla PERSAD-BISSESSAR]


	PAST ELECTIONS

Year	Specific Date	Election Type	View Results	Source
1946	1961	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
1956	1966	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
1961	1961	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
1966	1966	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
1971	May 1971	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
1976	1976	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
1981	1981	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
1986	December 1986	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
1991	December 1991	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
1995	6 November 1995	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
2000	11 December 2000	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
2001	10 December 2001	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
2002	7 October 2002	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
2007	5 November 2007	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission
2010	24 May 2010	Parliamentary		Elections and Boundaries Commission


	ELECTION REPORTS

The Trinidad and Tobago General Election 11 December 2000 - Report of the Commonwealth Observer Group


	MANIFESTOS

This section is currently being updated.