Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago

Legislature of Trinidad and Tobago

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

Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

13th Republican Parliament

Flag         Coat of Arms

Logo of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago

Type
Type|

Bicameral

Houses| Senate
House of Representatives
History
Founded| 31 August 1962
(62 years ago)
Preceded by| Legislative Council of Trinidad and Tobago

New session started

| 28 August 2020
Leadership

President

Christine Kangaloo, Independent[c]
since 20 March 2023

Prime Minister

Kamla Persad-Bissessar, UNC
since 1 May 2025

President of the Senate

Wade Mark[a]
since 23 May 2025

Vice President of the Senate

Kenya Charles, UNC
since 23 May 2025

Speaker of the House of Representatives

Jagdeo Singh[b]
since 23 May 2025

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives

Aiyna Ali, UNC
since 23 May 2025

Leader of the Opposition

Pennelope Beckles-Robinson, PNM
since 6 May 2025

Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives

Barry Padarath, UNC
since 23 May 2025

Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Representatives

Marvin Gonzales, PNM
since 23 May 2025

Leader of Government Business in the Senate

Darrell Allahar, UNC
since 23 May 2025

Structure
Seats| 72
31 Senators
41 Members of Parliament (MPs)

Senate political groups

| Government

*   United National
Congress (16)

Official Opposition

*   People's National Movement (6)

Other

*   Independent (9)

House of Representatives political groups

| Government

*   United National
Congress (26)

Official Opposition

*   People's National Movement (13)

Other

*   Tobago People's Party (2)

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

Last House of Representatives election

| 28 April 2025

Next House of Representatives election

| 2030
Meeting place
The Red House, Abercromby Street, Downtown, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Website
www.ttparliament.org
Constitution
Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago

Politics of Trinidad and Tobago

Government

* President (list)

Christine Kangaloo
* Prime Minister

Kamla Persad-Bissessar

Parliament

* Senate

President

Nigel de Freitas
* House of Representatives

Speaker

Bridgid Annisette-George
* Leader of the Opposition

Kamla Persad-Bissessar
* Members of Parliament

Judiciary

* Judicial Committee of the Privy Council / Caribbean Court of Justice
* Supreme Court

Chief Justice: Ivor Archie
Court of Appeal
High Court
* Magistracy
* Family Court

Elections

* Recent elections

* Presidential: 2013
* 2018
* 2023

* General: 2015
* 2020
* 2025

* Local (Trinidad): 2016
* 2019
* 2023

* Local (Tobago): 2017
* Jan 2021
* Dec 2021

* Political parties

Local government

* Administrative divisions

Former counties
* Tobago House of Assembly

Chief Secretary

Farley Chavez Augustine

Foreign relations

* Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Minister: Amery Browne

* * *

* Diplomatic missions of / in Trinidad and Tobago

* * *

* Passport
* Visa requirements
* Visa policy

Trinidad and Tobago portal

* Other countries

* v
* t
* e

The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch 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.[3][4][5][6] As of 20 April 2021, there are only 24 female members, or 32.9%[7] and eight members born in Tobago or 11.0%.

## International affiliation(s)

[edit]

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

## Members

[edit]

Main article: List of Trinidad and Tobago MPs

## See also

[edit]

* House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago
* Senate of Trinidad and Tobago
* Elections in Trinidad and Tobago
* List of political parties in Trinidad and Tobago
* Politics of Trinidad and Tobago
* List of parliaments of Trinidad and Tobago
* The Red House, Parliament building

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Trinidad and Tobago Parliament".
2. ^ "Trinidad and Tobago Parliament". www.ttparliament.org. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
3. ^ "De Souza makes history in Senate". Trinidad Express Newspapers. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
4. ^ "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.
5. ^ "History in Senate: Transgender De Souza Appointed Temporary UNC Senator". AZP News. 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
6. ^ "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.
7. ^ "Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments". Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform. Retrieved 2021-04-21.

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Mark was elected President of the Senate under the nomination of the UNC. However, the position of Senate President is officially one without political affiliation.[1]
2. ^ Jagdeo Singh was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives under the nomination of the UNC. However, the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives is officially one without political affiliation.[2]
3. ^ Kangaloo was a previous member of the PNM

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Trinidad and Tobago articles

History|

* Spanish missions
* History of Tobago
* Spanish West Indies
* Dutch colonization
* Curonian colonization
* French invasion of Tobago (1781)
* British invasion of Trinidad (1797)
* Independence Act
* Monarchy
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Geography|

* Cities and towns
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* Mangroves
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Politics|

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Economy|

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Society|

* Camouflage
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Culture|

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* Outline

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National bicameral legislatures

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Dependent and
other territories|

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Non-UN states|

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Historical|

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Related|

* Unicameralism
* Tricameralism
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* List of legislatures by country

* National unicameral legislatures
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National legislative bodies of the Americas

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other territories|

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