Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago is a unitary parliamentary republic. The president is indirectly elected by an electoral college composed of members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The president appoints the prime minister, who is generally the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives.

Trinidad and Tobago is divided into nine regional corporations, two city corporations, three municipal corporations and one district.

The National Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is bicameral. The House of Representatives has 42 seats, of which 41 are directly elected by universal suffrage in single-member constituencies by simple majority vote. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, usually an outsider, becomes an ex-officio member of the House. The Senate has 31 members appointed by the President of the Republic, of whom 16 represent the government and are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister; 6 are proposed by the leader of the opposition party; and 9 are directly appointed by the President of the Republic. The Speaker of the Senate, usually an outsider, becomes an ex-officio member of this chamber.

The local government structure comprises a single authority in Tobago (the Tobago House of Assembly) and 14 municipal corporations in Trinidad, comprising two city corporations, three borough corporations, and nine regional corporations. The corporations are headed by a mayor in the city and borough corporations; and by a chairperson in the regional corporations.

President, Senate and House of Representatives: five years.

House of Representatives: single member plurality systems (first-past-the-post).
 

Non applicable.

House of Representatives: 41 single-member constituencies (39 in Trinidad and 2 in Tobago).

Does not have.

Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Chapter 11A; Municipal Corporations Act 1990, and Tobago House of Assembly Act 1996.

Electoral management body independent of the Executive Power: Elections and Boundaries Commission.