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Government and politics Last elections: 24 May 2010 (national) Next elections: 2015 (national) Head of state: President Anthony Carmona (2013–) Head of government: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar Ruling party: People’s Partnership coalition Women MPs: 29% Following the tied December 2001 general election – when the People’s National Movement (PNM) and the United National Congress (UNC) each secured 18 seats in the House of Representatives (and the National Alliance for Reconstruction none) – a fresh election was called in October 2002, when the PNM secured a majority with 20 seats with 50.7 per cent of the votes, while the UNC took 16 with 46.6 per cent. PNM leader Patrick Manning – whom the President had chosen to be Prime Minister and form a government after the tied election – resumed as Prime Minister. In the elections of November 2007 (with the number of contested seats increased from 36 to 41), on a platform that highlighted its strong economic management and proposed the introduction of an executive presidency, the ruling PNM won with 26 seats and 45.9 per cent of votes. The main opposition UNC took 15 seats and 29.7 per cent of votes, and the newly established Congress of the People gained 22.6 per cent of votes but no seats. The PNM’s majority was a few seats short of the two-thirds required to amend the constitution. Tr i n i d a d a n d To b a g o Following a threatened vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Manning in April 2010, parliament was dissolved. In the general election that followed in May 2010, a new five-party coalition, the People’s Partnership, led by UNC leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar and including the Congress of the People, won 29 of the 41 seats in the lower house and 42.9 per cent of the votes cast, soundly defeating the incumbent PNM (12 seats and 39.6 per cent). Persad-Bissessar became Prime Minister – the first woman in the country’s history to assume the role. On the retirement of President George Maxwell Richards at the end of his second five-year term in office, on 15 February 2013 Justice Anthony Carmona, the sole candidate, was elected President by the electoral college. He was sworn in on 18 March 2013. Tobago In the Tobago House of Assembly election, held on 21 January 2013, the People’s National Movement, led by Orville London, won all 12 elective seats. Local government Ministry: Local Government (Trinidad) and the Office of the Prime Minister (Tobago) Association: Trinidad and Tobago Association of Local Government Authorities Local government is provided for by the Municipal Corporations Act 1990 and the Tobago House of Assembly Act 1996, and the Tobago House of Assembly is enshrined in the constitution. The Ministry of Local Government is responsible for local government in Trinidad, and the Office of the Prime Minister for that in Tobago. Local government comprises two city corporations, three borough corporations and nine regional corporations in Trinidad, and the House of Assembly in Tobago. Local elections are held every three years in Trinidad and every four years in Tobago. The city and borough corporations have revenue-raising powers, and all local authorities receive transfers from national government. The local authorities are responsible for a broad range of public services, notably primary health care, education and internal security. National development plan The Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development is responsible for the National Framework for Sustainable Development, and for economic planning and monitoring. The ministry is engaged in implementing a new economic strategy that incorporates the National Innovation System, which aims at economic diversification. This ministry has oversight of the Economic Development Board, and the Council for Competitiveness and Innovation, which were both established in 2011 to play advisory and implementation roles in the strategic management of the economy. They are mandated to foster a culture of research and innovation, particularly in the non-energy and services sector, aiming to increase research and development spending to at least three per cent of GDP over a tenyear period. Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2014/15 267 Governance institutions Bureau of Standards: www.ttbs.org.tt Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago: www.central-bank.org.tt Elections and Boundaries Commission: www.ebctt.com Integrity Commission: www.integritycommission.org.tt Judiciary: www.ttlawcourts.org Ministry of Finance and the Economy: www.finance.gov.tt Ministry of Legal Affairs: www.legalaffairs.gov.tt Ministry of Local Government: www.localgov.gov.tt Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development: www.planning.gov.tt Ministry of Trade, Industry, Investment and Communications: www.tradeind.gov.tt Office of the Prime Minister: www.opm.gov.tt Ombudsman: www.ombudsman.gov.tt Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago: www.ttparliament.org Regulated Industries Commission: www.ric.org.tt Telecommunications Authority: www.tatt.org.tt Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange: www.stockex.co.tt


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