Trinidad and Tobago Government - 1986

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Official name: Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Port-of-Spain

Political subdivisions: 8 counties (29 wards, Tobago is 30th)

Legal system: based on English common law; constitution came into effect 1976; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court, has not accepted compulsory 1CJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day, 31 August

Branches: bicameral legislature (36-member elected House of Representatives and 31-member appointed Senate); executive is Cabinet led by the Prime Minister; judiciary is headed by the Chief Justice and includes a Court of Appeal, High Court, and lower courts

Government leaders: George Michael CHAMBERS, Prime Minister (since 1981); Ellis Emmanuel Innocent CLARKE, President (since 1976)

Suffrage: universal over age 18

Elections: elections to be held at intervals of not more than five years; last election held 9 November 1981

Political parties and leaders: People’s National Movement (PNM), George Chambers; United L abor Front (ULF), Basdeo Panday; Organization for National Reconstruction (ONR\ Karl Hudson-Phillips; Democratic Action Congress (DAC), Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson; Tapia House Movement, Michael Harris

Votingstrength:(l98l election)55% of registered voters cast ballots; House of Representatives—PNM, 26 seats; ULF, 8; DAC, the 2 Tobago seats

Communists: People’s Popular Movement (PPM), Michael Ais; February 18 Movement (F/18), James Miliette; Workers’ Revolutionary Committee (WRC), John Poon

Other political pressure groups: National Joint Action Committee (NJAC), radical antigovernment black-identity organization; Trinidad and Tobago Peace Council, leftist organization affiliated with the World Peace Council; Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce; Trinidad and Tobago Labor Congress, moderate labor federation; Council of Progressive Trade Unions, radical labor federation

Member of: CARICOM, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, 1ADB, IBRD, International Coffee Agreement, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB—Inter-American Development Bank, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

NOTE: The information regarding Trinidad and Tobago on this page is re-published from the 1986 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Trinidad and Tobago 1986 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Trinidad and Tobago 1986 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.