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GOVERNMENT
Trinidad
and Tobago is a unitary state, with a parliamentary democracy
modeled after that of the U.K. From 1962 until 1976, Trinidad
and Tobago, although completely independent, acknowledged the
British monarch as the figurehead chief of state. In 1976, the
country adopted a republican Constitution, replacing Queen Elizabeth
with a president elected by Parliament. The general direction
and control of the government rests with the cabinet, led by a
prime minister and answerable to the bicameral Parliament.
The members of the House of Representatives are elected to terms of at least 5 years. Elections may be called earlier by the president at the request of the prime minister or after a vote of no confidence in the House of Representatives. Parliamentary elections took place on November 5, 2007; the number of seats contested in the House of Representatives in that vote increased from 36 to 41. The Senate's 31 members are appointed by the president: 16 on the advice of the prime minister, 6 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 9 independents selected by the president from among outstanding members of the community. Elected councils administer the nine regional, two city, and three borough corporations on Trinidad. Since 1980 the Tobago House of Assembly has governed Tobago with limited responsibility for local matters.
The country's highest court is the Court of Appeal, whose chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and leader of the opposition. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London decides final appeal on some matters. Member states of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) selected Trinidad as the headquarters site for the new Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which is intended eventually to replace the Privy Council for all CARICOM states. The CCJ heard its first case in August 2005. Despite having its seat in Port of Spain, the CCJ has not yet supplanted the Privy Council for Trinidad and Tobago due to a legislative dispute over constitutional reform.
POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The first political party in Trinidad and Tobago with a continuing organization and program--the People's National Movement (PNM)--emerged in 1956 under Dr. Eric Williams, who became Prime Minister upon independence and remained in that position until his death in 1981. Politics have generally run along ethnic lines, with Afro-Trinidadians supporting the PNM and Indo-Trinidadians supporting various Indian-majority parties, such as the United National Congress (UNC). Most political parties, however, have sought to broaden their appeal, and their candidate lists for the November 2007 parliamentary elections reflected this.
The PNM remained in power following the death of Dr. Williams, but its 30-year rule ended in 1986 when the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), a "rainbow party" aimed at Trinidadians of both African and Indian descent, won a landslide victory by capturing 33 of 36 seats. Tobago's A.N.R. Robinson, the NAR political leader, became Prime Minister. The NAR began to break down when the Indian component withdrew in 1988. Basdeo Panday, leader of the old United Labor Front (ULF), formed the new opposition with the UNC.
In July 1990, the Jamaat al Muslimeen, an extremist Black Muslim group with an unresolved grievance against the government over land claims, tried to overthrow the NAR government. The group held the prime minister and members of parliament hostage for 5 days while rioting and looting shook Port of Spain. After a long standoff with the police and military, Jamaat leader Yasin Abu Bakr and his followers surrendered to Trinidad and Tobago authorities. In 1992, the Court of Appeal upheld the validity of a government amnesty given to the Jamaat members during the hostage crisis. Abu Bakr and 113 other Jamaat members were jailed for two years while other courts debated the amnesty's validity. All 114 members were eventually released after a ruling by the U.K. Privy Council.
In 1991 elections, the NAR lost control of the government to the PNM, led by Patrick Manning who became prime minister. The Panday-led UNC finished second and replaced the NAR as chief opposition party. In 1995 Manning called for elections, in which the PNM and UNC both won 17 seats and the NAR won two seats. The UNC allied with the NAR and formed the new government, with Panday becoming prime minister--the first prime minister of East Indian descent. Although elections held in 2000 returned the UNC to power, the UNC government fell in 2001 with the defection of three of its parliamentarians, and the subsequent elections resulted in an even 18-18 split between the UNC and the PNM. President A.N.R. Robinson bypassed his former party colleague Panday by inviting PNM leader Manning to form a government, but the inability to break the tie delayed Parliament from meeting. Manning called elections in 2002, after which the PNM formed the next government with a 20-16 majority.
Elections were held again on November 5, 2007, with the PNM winning 26 seats and the UNC securing the remaining 15; the recently-formed Congress of the People party (COP) won no seats. Prime Minister Manning took his oath of office on November 7 to begin another 5-year term. In April 2010, however, the Prime Minister determined to dissolve Parliament early and elections were called for May 24. The vote will pit the PNM against a coalition of the UNC and COP, as well as some smaller parties. All three major parties are committed to free market economic policies and increased foreign investment. Trinidad and Tobago has remained cooperative with the United States in the regional fight against narcotics trafficking and on other issues.
Principal
Government Officials
President--George Maxwell Richards
Prime Minister--Patrick Manning
Attorney General--Bridgid Annisette-George
Chief Justice--Ivor Archie
Selected Short List of Key Ministers and other government officials
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Paula Gopee-Scoon
Minister of Energy and Energy Industries and Public Administration--Conrad Enill
Minister of Finance--Karen Nunez-Tesheira
Minister of National Security--Martin Joseph
Minister of Trade and Industry--Lenny Saith
Attorney General--Bridgid Annisette-George
Chief Justice--Ivor Archie
Ambassador to the U.S. and to the OAS--Glenda Morean-Phillip
Ambassador to the UN--Marina Valere
The embassy
of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is located at 1708 Massachusetts
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 (tel. 202467-6490; fax. 202-785-3130).
Type: Parliamentary democracy.
Independence: August 31, 1962.
Present constitution: September 24, 1976.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--bicameral parliament. Judicial--independent court system; highest court of appeal is Privy Council (London).
Subdivisions: Nine regional corporations, two city corporations, three borough corporations, one ward (Trinidad); Tobago House of Assembly.
Political parties: People's National Movement (PNM); United National Congress (UNC); Congress of the People (COP); other minor parties, including the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR).
Suffrage: Universal at 18.
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