Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago

Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
12th Republican Parliament
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Senate; House of Representatives
History
Founded	31 August 1962; (59 years ago)
Preceded by	Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago
New session started	28 August 2020
Leadership
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago	Keith Rowley, PNM ; since 9 September 2015
President of the Senate	Christine Kangaloo ; since 23 September 2015
Vice President of the Senate	Nigel DeFreitas, PNM ; since 23 September 2015
Speaker of the House of Representatives	Bridgid Annisette-George ; since 23 September 2015
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives	Esmond Forde, PNM ; since 23 September 2015
Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate	Wade Mark, UNC ; since 23 September 2015
Leader of the Opposition	Kamla Persad-Bissessar, UNC ; since 21 September 2015
Ombudsman	Rajmanlal Joseph
Structure
Seats	72; 31 Senators ; 41 Members of Parliament (MPs)
Senate political groups	Government People's National Movement (15); Official Opposition United National; Congress (6); Other Independent (9); Vacant Vacant (1);
House of Representatives political groups	Government People's National Movement (22); Official Opposition United National; Congress (19);
Elections
Senate voting system	Appointment by the president on advice of the prime minister (16), at her discretion (9) and opposition leader (6)
House of Representatives voting system	First-past-the-post
House of Representatives last election	10 August 2020
House of Representatives next election	2025
Meeting place
	The Red House, Abercromby Street, Downtown, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Website
	www.ttparliament.org
Constitution
	Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago

Coordinates: 10°39′11″N 61°30′42″W / 10.65306°N 61.51167°W / 10.65306; -61.51167

The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. The Parliament is bicameral. Besides the President of Trinidad and Tobago, it is composed of the House of Representatives, which is composed of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in addition to 41 directly elected members serving a five-year term in single-seat constituencies, and the Senate which has 31 members appointed by the President: 16 Government Senators appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, 6 Opposition Senators appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and 9 Independent Senators appointed by the President to represent other sectors of civil society. It is at present the only parliament in the world with an incumbent female President, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Leader of the Opposition and made history by appointing the Caribbean's first and only transgender parliamentarian on 15 February 2022.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] As of 20 April 2021, there are only 24 female members, or 32.9%^[8] and eight members born in Tobago or 11.0%.

Speaker of the House and President of the Senate[]

Christine Kangaloo
President of the Senate
since September 23, 2015

Bridgid Annisette-George
Speaker of the House of Representatives
since September 23, 2015

International affiliation(s)[]

ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
Canada-Caribbean Parliamentary Friendship Group
Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
Inter-Parliamentary Union IPU

References[]

^ "Trinidad and Tobago Parliament".
^ "Trinidad and Tobago Parliament". www.ttparliament.org. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
^ "Trinidad and Tobago Parliament".
^ "De Souza makes history in Senate". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
^ "Jowelle De Souza makes history as the first trans woman sworn into the Senate". IzzSo - News travels fast !!. 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
^ "History in Senate: Transgender De Souza Appointed Temporary UNC Senator". AZP News. 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
^ "Jowelle De Souza on Senate appointment: Trinidad and Tobago maturing to accept different people". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
^ "Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments". Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform. Retrieved 2021-04-21.

Notes[]

^ Kangaloo was elected President of the Senate under the nomination of the PNM. However, the position of Senate President is officially one without political affiliation.^[1]
^ Annisette-George was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives under the nomination of the PNM. However, the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives is officially one without political affiliation.^[2]

External links[]

Official website

[1] "Trinidad and Tobago Parliament".

[3] "Trinidad and Tobago Parliament". www.ttparliament.org. Retrieved 16 October 2020.

[5] "Trinidad and Tobago Parliament".

[6] "De Souza makes history in Senate". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Retrieved 2022-02-18.

[7] "Jowelle De Souza makes history as the first trans woman sworn into the Senate". IzzSo - News travels fast !!. 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-18.

[8] "History in Senate: Transgender De Souza Appointed Temporary UNC Senator". AZP News. 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-18.

[9] "Jowelle De Souza on Senate appointment: Trinidad and Tobago maturing to accept different people". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-18.

[10] "Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments". Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform. Retrieved 2021-04-21.

[2] Kangaloo was elected President of the Senate under the nomination of the PNM. However, the position of Senate President is officially one without political affiliation.^[1]

[4] Annisette-George was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives under the nomination of the PNM. However, the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives is officially one without political affiliation.^[2]

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