2018 Trinidad and Tobago presidential election

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2018 Trinidad and Tobago presidential election
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  President Paul Mae-Weekes.jpg
Nominee Paula-Mae Weekes
Party Independent
Electoral vote Unopposed
President before election

Anthony Carmona
Independent

Elected President

Paula-Mae Weekes
Independent

Politics of Trinidad and Tobago
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Indirect presidential elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on 19 January 2018.

On 5 January 2018, the name of Paula-Mae Weekes, a judge of the Turks and Caicos Islands Court of Appeal, was put forward by the PNM government of Prime Minister Keith Rowley in hopes of reaching a consensus with the UNC-led parliamentary opposition of Kamla Persad-Bissessar, which later indeed endorsed her nomination as well. As Weekes was the only nominated candidate on election day, she was deemed elected without the need for a vote. Paula-Mae Weeks thus became the first woman to take office as president of Trinidad and Tobago on 19 March 2018.[1]

Electoral method[]

The President of Trinidad and Tobago is indirectly elected for a 5-year term by an electoral college comprising all 41 members of the House of Representatives and all 31 members of the Senate.

To win the election a candidate must gain a plurality of votes cast, whereby a quorum comprising the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 10 Senators and 12 other member of the House of Representatives must be met for the election to be considered valid. If only one candidate should be nominated to run in the election, he or she shall be considered to have been elected president without the need for a vote to take place.[2]

Candidates[]

Nominated by the Government[]

Electoral College[]

Partisan make-up of the Electoral College[]

Political Party Seats in
House of
Representatives		 Seats in Senate Total %
People's National Movement 23 16 39 54.16%
United National Congress 17 6 23 31.94%
Congress of the People 1 0 1 1.39%
Independents 0 9 9 12.5%
Total 41 31 72 100%
Source:https://web.archive.org/web/20140217003126/http://www.ttparliament.org/

Results of the election held on 19 January 2018[]

Candidate House of
Representatives		 Senate Total %
Paula-Mae Weekes Unopposed
Invalid/blank votes
Abstained
Not present
Total 41 31 72 100%
Source:

References[]

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ http://www.oas.org/juridico/english/mesicic3_tto_constitution.pdf


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