In my previous post, I discussed how the educated youth of Trinidad are politically oppressed under the present political system. The purpose of the next two posts will be to examine the existing political system in detail and outline my proposed changes to fix the system.
I know in my previous post I said that this would be accomplished in one post but the sheer volume of information I wanted to fit into it necessitated it being split into two posts. The first will focus on outlining the current political system and the second will focus on detailing my proposed changes to the system.
In order to understand why changes need to be made, we must first examine the system presently in place. Trinidad and Tobago (like many former British colonies) is presently governed by a facsimile of the British Westminster System of government. With the exception of a few modifications to fit the local context, the basic structure of government was essentially left unchanged since gaining independence. This is a testament to the intellectual laziness of our populous and our unwillingness to break with colonial tradition.
Government under this system is split into two levels: local government (responsible for government on the community level) and national or central government (responsible for government on the national level).
National or Central Government
The main role of this level of government is to manage the country at a national and international level. They pass legislation, handle foreign affairs and fiscal policy and are responsible for diplomatic relations among other roles.
The central government in Trinidad is partially elected by the population, with some members being appointed based on the role they serve. General elections are constitutionally due every five years in the country. There are however no fixed dates (the date must be set by the prime minister) and no term limits for any elected individuals.
At the national level, the government of Trinidad and Tobago is split into three main branches: the executive, legislative and judicial branches ("Politics Of Trinidad And Tobago" 2017). Note that these blog posts will mainly concentrate on the executive and legislative branches of government. The judicial branch will be discussed in detail in a later post. A general outline of the structure of the national level of government is shown in the diagram below (Fig. 1).
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| Figure 1:- Simplified Diagram of the Central Government of Trinidad and Tobago |
The executive branch is made up of the prime minister, president and the ministers. Its main purpose is to approve legislation and head the country.
The President
The president of the republic of Trinidad and Tobago serves as the head of state and is part of the executive branch of government. This role was created as a direct replacement to the Queen of England's role in our government following Trinidad and Tobago becoming a republic in 1976 ("Republic Day" 2017).
While the president has some powers including appointing senators and choosing the prime minister and is also the head of the defence forces, the role has mostly been symbolic in nature. The president is essentially a figurehead, a relic of our colonial past and more evidence of the reluctance of Trinidad and Tobago to drift too far away from the customs and practises of its former colonial master.
The president is not directly elected by the people of the nation, but by the legislative branch (senators and members of parliament) who decide the holder of the position based on popular vote among themselves. This can affect the neutrality of the president as while officially, the president is supposed to be independent of any political party, it is possible for the ruling party to nominate and elect a person who supports their agenda if they hold the majority of seats in the legislative branch, (which most of the times they do). This is an example of how the older colonial system is not always relevant to contemporary challenges. When this role was occupied by the queen, neutrality could be guaranteed because the queen existed outside of the partisan system. However, the president does not always exist outside of this system in practice as they are elected by members of the existing political parties.
The Prime Minister (PM)
Once the winner of an election is decided, the president selects a member of the ruling party (usually its political leader) to fill the role of prime minister. The prime minister is the head of government business and is subordinate to the president (the head of state).
The roles of the prime minster include selecting senators, representation of the country in international affairs, recommending ministerial appointments and declaring states of emergency among others.
The prime minister of the nation has most of the real decision making power over national affairs. They are present for all parliamentary debates and are usually the head of the ruling political party, giving them the ability to dictate the course of national affairs should they choose to do so. The president, though officially higher in rank than the prime minister, has little real power to effect change, especially if he or she has been placed in their position due to allegiance to the ruling political party.
Ministers
Ministers are the final part and lowest tier of the executive branch of government and are the heads of the various ministries which are responsible for dealing with specific aspects of the country's affairs such as education, healthcare and transportation. They must be members of the ruling political party and must be selected from the senate or house of representatives.
Note that there are no field-specific requirements for the selection of a minister. So for example, to be the Minister of Works and Transport, you do not necessarily need to have qualifications in a relevant field or any relevant work experience, you just need the approval of the president and prime minister. This can and has led to mismatches in appointees and their ministerial portfolio which can affect decision making.
Nepotism also plays a role in the selection of ministerial candidates and can lead to incompetent or unqualified individuals being placed in ministerial positions. Ideally, we should be putting our best and brightest into these positions, those at the top of their field who possess the necessary expertise to effectively handle the role. Moreover, these appointments should not be political in nature. Politicians should not be able to appoint their friends and family or party hacks to the role.
The Legislative Branch
The Senate
The senate is made up of thirty-one members who are selected by either the president (nine senators) prime minister (sixteen senators) or opposition leader (six senators) ("Senate (Trinidad And Tobago)" 2017) supposedly based on their individual skills and qualifications. Temporary senators can also be sworn in as needed if debate on specific issues requires their expertise. They are headed by the president of the senate (a separate position to the president of the nation) who is also a member of the ruling political party. The senate is the highest component of the legislative branch of the government.
The role of the senate is to allow for an expert voice to weigh in on national policy and to serve as a check and balance to the voice of the people represented by the lower house.They have to vote on legislation in conjunction with the lower house for it to be passed. The senate is also supposed to be more independent from the main political parties as the senators appointed by the president must be independents ("Senate (Trinidad And Tobago)" 2017).
In practice however, many political leaders have abused the system and simply appointed those in line with their own vested interests. There is no specific statement of what the skills or qualifications required to be a senator are and the selection of skilled, qualified individuals is often left up to the discretion of the selector (president, prime minister or leader of opposition). This essentially gives them carte blanche to appoint whoever they want to the position of senator so long as they could justify their choice by stating the individual is suitably qualified with often the flimsiest of evidence.
The distribution of seats in the senate at the time of writing is shown below (Fig. 2). Note that the ruling People's National Movement (PNM) has the majority of seats with sixteen in total giving this party the ability to dictate the course of national affairs according to it's wishes. The opposition United National Congress (UNC) which is supposed to provide a balance to the PNM has a minority of the seats in the senate, with the independent senators having the next greatest say with nine seats.
House of Representatives (HoR)
The house of representatives is the lower part of the legislative branch of government. The main difference between the upper and lower houses is that the upper house is selected while the lower house is elected. Trinidad and Tobago is divided into forty-one different constituencies or seats. Each constituency selects its representative or member of parliament in the lower house or house of representatives by a first-past the post system of voting. Candidates can either be a member of a larger political party or can be independent. The winning party of each election is decided by who wins the most seats and may not necessarily have the popular vote. ("House Of Representatives (Trinidad And Tobago)" 2017).
The role of the MP's in the lower house is to represent their constituents' interests in policy-making. They must vote on legislation before it is passed. Additionally, they are supposed to engage with the people they represent and bring to light the grievances of their constituents at the national level.
There are no set requirements in terms of qualifications or expertise when applying to run as a candidate to represent an area. One doesn't even have to reside in the area one represents. While this may not be an issue by itself, being from a particular area does imbue a certain sentimental connection to that area and may affect your performance when representing the people of that area. A person who resides in an area will also have a better grasp on the issues affecting its residents than one who resides outside of it.
The composition of the lower house (by political party) at the time of writing is shown in the pie chart below (Fig. 3) ("House Of Representatives (Trinidad And Tobago)" 2017). As with the senate, the ruling PNM has the majority with fifty-six percent of the seats with the coalition opposition parties United National Congress (UNC) and Congress of the People (COP) holding the remaining forty-four percent. Again you can see how this can give the PNM an advantage in controlling the direction of national policy. Voters who supported the other parties have very little representation in the government except in cases where a special majority is needed to pass policies.
The Judicial Branch
The judicial branch's main purpose is to enforce the rule of law. This branch is the justice system of the nation and is made up of several components. Note that only a brief overview of some relevant components of this branch will be done in this post, with greater detail being covered in a future post on the justice system of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Chief Justice
The chief justice is the head of the judicial branch and is appointed by the president, prime minister and leader of opposition ("Politics Of Trinidad And Tobago" 2017). In a nutshell, the chief justice is responsible for presiding over the justice system of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Court of Appeal
The court of appeal is the highest locally-based court in Trinidad and Tobago for some legal matters. It is based in Trinidad and Tobago and is often the final ruling on many legal matters ("Politics Of Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
The Privy Council (UK)
The privy council (which is based in the United Kingdom) is the absolute highest court in the Trinidad and Tobago justice system. It is not based in the country itself, but in the United Kingdom and is a holdover from our colonial past. Although efforts have been made to replace the privy council with the Caribbean Court of Justice (a Caribbean-based court ironically headquartered in Trinidad) the government has yet to pass the required legislation to make the shift ("Politics Of Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Local Government in Trinidad
At the local level, the island of Trinidad is divided into fourteen administrative regions ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017) which are controlled by regional corporations, borough corporations or city corporations depending on the nature of the region in question. While there are some minor differences in the structure of these corporations, the general structure remains the same and is outlined below (Fig. 4).
Councillors
Councillors are elected by a first past the post system similar to members of parliament on the national level. The number of the councillors varies depending on the municipal corporation in question ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Aldermen
Aldermen differ from councillors because they are selected based on their skills and qualifications rather than elected by popular vote. They are essentially the local government version of senators. Aldermen are selected by the councillors for the particular corporation ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Mayors/Chairmen
The mayor (in a borough or city corporation) or chairman (in a regional corporation) is the head of the corporation. He or she is selected from the group of councillors and aldermen based on a vote among this group ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Types of Municipal Corporations
There are three distinct types or municipal corporations and their classification is dependent on the area they control. A detailed list is provided in the table below (Table 1).
Regional Corporations
Regional corporations are intended to oversee the affairs of rural areas in Trinidad. These are areas which fall outside of the confines of a city or borough and are less populated. As a consequence of this, the regional corporations tend to cover larger geographic areas but fewer people than the borough or city corporations. Regional corporations are headed by a chairman who oversees the councillors and aldermen of the corporation. Elections are held for new councillors every three years.
Borough Corporations
These corporations are responsible for oversight of areas determined to be boroughs in Trinidad. A borough in the local context is essentially an area which is more urbanised and densely populated than a rural area but less urbanised and densely populated than a city. The borough corporation is overseen by a mayor with councillors and aldermen reporting to them and again elections are held every three years.
City Corporations
City corporations, as their name suggests, govern areas on the island of Trinidad determined to be cities. These are the most densely populated and most urbanised areas on the islands. Much like the borough corporation, the city corporation is headed by a mayor selected from the councillors and aldermen and elections are constitutionally due every three years.
Local Government in Tobago: The Tobago House of Assembly (THA)
The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is responsible for oversight of the island of Tobago. They are structured quite differently to the other municipal corporations and more closely resemble the parliamentary structure of the central government. The structure of the THA is shown in the diagram below (Fig. 5).
The THA is unicameral in structure (in comparison to the bicameral central government) and has fewer members (seventeen in total) than the central government. ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017) ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
The aim of the THA is to give some form of autonomy to Trinidad's dependency of Tobago. As such the THA has greater decision making power than other municipal corporations but still has limitations in terms of law-making and tax collection. This is why it has only executive and legislative arms with no judicial arm like the central government.
THA elections are constitutionally due every four years. The island of Tobago is divided into twelve seats. Political parties nominate candidates for each region who are elected on a first past the post system similar to MP's at the national level. The party that wins the most seats then wins the election and forms the majority of THA.
The Chief Secretary
The chief secretary is a member of the executive arm of the THA who is responsible for oversight of the executive council. This role is analogous to that of the prime minister in the central government. The chief secretary is elected from among the assemblymen (usually the political leader of the ruling party) ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017).
Deputy Chief Secretary
The deputy chief secretary is the substitute to the chief secretary. Note that there is no analogue of this post in the central government. He or she is also elected from among the assemblymen ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017).
Secretaries
Another component of the executive council are up to seven other secretaries below the chief secretary in charge of various aspects of Tobago's development. Their function is similar in nature to the ministerial positions of the central government ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017).
Assistant Secretaries
Assistant Secretaries are junior to the secretaries and are responsible for assisting in the secretaries in their duties ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017).
Leader of Executive Council Business
The leader of the executive council co-ordinates and controls the order of business in the house ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017).
Minority Leader
The minority leader is the assemblyman who's party essentially finishes second place in the THA election and is appointed by the president of the republic to serve as an opposing voice in the THA. Their position is analogous to the leader of opposition in the central government. Given the fact that the PNM won all the divisions in the last THA elections, there is no minority leader in the house so a public interest desk was set up in lieu of this position ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017).
Assemblymen
Assemblymen are elected by the Tobagonian electorate during the election for a four-year term. The serve a similar purpose to the members of parliament in the central government. There are a total of twelve elected assemblymen ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017) ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Councillors
Councillors in Tobago are selected rather than elected in contrast to their Trinidadian counterparts and serve a function similar to the senators of the central government. The four councillors of the THA are selected by the chief secretary (three) and by the minority leader (one)("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017) ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Presiding Officer
The presiding offices serves the same role as speaker of the house in the central government, overseeing all proceedings in the house to ensure order. They are elected by the popular vote of the assemblymen ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017) ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Deputy Presiding Officer
Elected from among the assemblymen and acts a substitute for the presiding officer should they be absent ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017) ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Conclusion
From this post we can get a sense of the structure of the government in Trinidad and Tobago and right away several problems are evident. It is needlessly complicated, tends to be susceptible to partisan policy-making and is not truly representative of the people. It also lacks sufficient checks and balances to prevent the ruling party from running the country in accordance with their own party agenda (an issue which was touched on in my previous post). In part two of this post, I will describe these problems in greater detail and outline my proposed solutions to them.
A final note: if I have made any errors (grammatical or factual) feel free to post a comment and I will edit the post and correct it. I apologise in advance for any that might occur.
Thanks for Reading,
Barindra
References
"About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly". 2017. Tobago House Of Assembly. http://www.tha.gov.tt/about-the-assembly/.
"House Of Representatives (Trinidad And Tobago)". 2017. En.Wikipedia.Org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Representatives_(Trinidad_and_Tobago).
"Politics Of Trinidad And Tobago". 2017. En.Wikipedia.Org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Trinidad_and_Tobago.
"Republic Day". 2017. NALIS-National Library And Information System. https://www.nalis.gov.tt/Resources/Subject-Guide/Republic-Day.
"Senate (Trinidad And Tobago)". 2017. En.Wikipedia.Org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_(Trinidad_and_Tobago).
"The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago". 2017. Commonwealth Local Government Forum. http://www.clgf.org.uk/trinidad-and-tobago196/.
The senate is made up of thirty-one members who are selected by either the president (nine senators) prime minister (sixteen senators) or opposition leader (six senators) ("Senate (Trinidad And Tobago)" 2017) supposedly based on their individual skills and qualifications. Temporary senators can also be sworn in as needed if debate on specific issues requires their expertise. They are headed by the president of the senate (a separate position to the president of the nation) who is also a member of the ruling political party. The senate is the highest component of the legislative branch of the government.
The role of the senate is to allow for an expert voice to weigh in on national policy and to serve as a check and balance to the voice of the people represented by the lower house.They have to vote on legislation in conjunction with the lower house for it to be passed. The senate is also supposed to be more independent from the main political parties as the senators appointed by the president must be independents ("Senate (Trinidad And Tobago)" 2017).
In practice however, many political leaders have abused the system and simply appointed those in line with their own vested interests. There is no specific statement of what the skills or qualifications required to be a senator are and the selection of skilled, qualified individuals is often left up to the discretion of the selector (president, prime minister or leader of opposition). This essentially gives them carte blanche to appoint whoever they want to the position of senator so long as they could justify their choice by stating the individual is suitably qualified with often the flimsiest of evidence.
The distribution of seats in the senate at the time of writing is shown below (Fig. 2). Note that the ruling People's National Movement (PNM) has the majority of seats with sixteen in total giving this party the ability to dictate the course of national affairs according to it's wishes. The opposition United National Congress (UNC) which is supposed to provide a balance to the PNM has a minority of the seats in the senate, with the independent senators having the next greatest say with nine seats.
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| Figure 2:- Distribution of the Senate at the Time of Writing |
House of Representatives (HoR)
The house of representatives is the lower part of the legislative branch of government. The main difference between the upper and lower houses is that the upper house is selected while the lower house is elected. Trinidad and Tobago is divided into forty-one different constituencies or seats. Each constituency selects its representative or member of parliament in the lower house or house of representatives by a first-past the post system of voting. Candidates can either be a member of a larger political party or can be independent. The winning party of each election is decided by who wins the most seats and may not necessarily have the popular vote. ("House Of Representatives (Trinidad And Tobago)" 2017).
The role of the MP's in the lower house is to represent their constituents' interests in policy-making. They must vote on legislation before it is passed. Additionally, they are supposed to engage with the people they represent and bring to light the grievances of their constituents at the national level.
There are no set requirements in terms of qualifications or expertise when applying to run as a candidate to represent an area. One doesn't even have to reside in the area one represents. While this may not be an issue by itself, being from a particular area does imbue a certain sentimental connection to that area and may affect your performance when representing the people of that area. A person who resides in an area will also have a better grasp on the issues affecting its residents than one who resides outside of it.
The house of representatives is presided over by a speaker and deputy speaker who are supposed to maintain order and provide an element of neutrality. However as they are often members of the ruling party, the neutrality of their decisions can be questionable at times.
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| Figure 3:-Present Seat Distribution in the Lower House at the Time of Writing |
The Judicial Branch
The judicial branch's main purpose is to enforce the rule of law. This branch is the justice system of the nation and is made up of several components. Note that only a brief overview of some relevant components of this branch will be done in this post, with greater detail being covered in a future post on the justice system of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Chief Justice
The chief justice is the head of the judicial branch and is appointed by the president, prime minister and leader of opposition ("Politics Of Trinidad And Tobago" 2017). In a nutshell, the chief justice is responsible for presiding over the justice system of Trinidad and Tobago.
The Court of Appeal
The court of appeal is the highest locally-based court in Trinidad and Tobago for some legal matters. It is based in Trinidad and Tobago and is often the final ruling on many legal matters ("Politics Of Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
The Privy Council (UK)
The privy council (which is based in the United Kingdom) is the absolute highest court in the Trinidad and Tobago justice system. It is not based in the country itself, but in the United Kingdom and is a holdover from our colonial past. Although efforts have been made to replace the privy council with the Caribbean Court of Justice (a Caribbean-based court ironically headquartered in Trinidad) the government has yet to pass the required legislation to make the shift ("Politics Of Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Local Government in Trinidad
At the local level, the island of Trinidad is divided into fourteen administrative regions ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017) which are controlled by regional corporations, borough corporations or city corporations depending on the nature of the region in question. While there are some minor differences in the structure of these corporations, the general structure remains the same and is outlined below (Fig. 4).
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| Figure 4:-Simplified Diagram of the Local Government System in Trinidad |
Councillors are elected by a first past the post system similar to members of parliament on the national level. The number of the councillors varies depending on the municipal corporation in question ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Aldermen
Aldermen differ from councillors because they are selected based on their skills and qualifications rather than elected by popular vote. They are essentially the local government version of senators. Aldermen are selected by the councillors for the particular corporation ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Mayors/Chairmen
The mayor (in a borough or city corporation) or chairman (in a regional corporation) is the head of the corporation. He or she is selected from the group of councillors and aldermen based on a vote among this group ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Types of Municipal Corporations
There are three distinct types or municipal corporations and their classification is dependent on the area they control. A detailed list is provided in the table below (Table 1).
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| Table 1:-List of Regional Corporations in Trinidad and Tobago ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017) |
Regional corporations are intended to oversee the affairs of rural areas in Trinidad. These are areas which fall outside of the confines of a city or borough and are less populated. As a consequence of this, the regional corporations tend to cover larger geographic areas but fewer people than the borough or city corporations. Regional corporations are headed by a chairman who oversees the councillors and aldermen of the corporation. Elections are held for new councillors every three years.
Borough Corporations
These corporations are responsible for oversight of areas determined to be boroughs in Trinidad. A borough in the local context is essentially an area which is more urbanised and densely populated than a rural area but less urbanised and densely populated than a city. The borough corporation is overseen by a mayor with councillors and aldermen reporting to them and again elections are held every three years.
City Corporations
City corporations, as their name suggests, govern areas on the island of Trinidad determined to be cities. These are the most densely populated and most urbanised areas on the islands. Much like the borough corporation, the city corporation is headed by a mayor selected from the councillors and aldermen and elections are constitutionally due every three years.
Local Government in Tobago: The Tobago House of Assembly (THA)
The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is responsible for oversight of the island of Tobago. They are structured quite differently to the other municipal corporations and more closely resemble the parliamentary structure of the central government. The structure of the THA is shown in the diagram below (Fig. 5).
 |
| Figure 5:-Simplified Structure of the THA |
The THA is unicameral in structure (in comparison to the bicameral central government) and has fewer members (seventeen in total) than the central government. ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017) ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
The aim of the THA is to give some form of autonomy to Trinidad's dependency of Tobago. As such the THA has greater decision making power than other municipal corporations but still has limitations in terms of law-making and tax collection. This is why it has only executive and legislative arms with no judicial arm like the central government.
THA elections are constitutionally due every four years. The island of Tobago is divided into twelve seats. Political parties nominate candidates for each region who are elected on a first past the post system similar to MP's at the national level. The party that wins the most seats then wins the election and forms the majority of THA.
The Chief Secretary
The chief secretary is a member of the executive arm of the THA who is responsible for oversight of the executive council. This role is analogous to that of the prime minister in the central government. The chief secretary is elected from among the assemblymen (usually the political leader of the ruling party) ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017).
Deputy Chief Secretary
The deputy chief secretary is the substitute to the chief secretary. Note that there is no analogue of this post in the central government. He or she is also elected from among the assemblymen ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017).
Secretaries
Another component of the executive council are up to seven other secretaries below the chief secretary in charge of various aspects of Tobago's development. Their function is similar in nature to the ministerial positions of the central government ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017).
Assistant Secretaries
Assistant Secretaries are junior to the secretaries and are responsible for assisting in the secretaries in their duties ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017).
Leader of Executive Council Business
The leader of the executive council co-ordinates and controls the order of business in the house ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017).
Minority Leader
The minority leader is the assemblyman who's party essentially finishes second place in the THA election and is appointed by the president of the republic to serve as an opposing voice in the THA. Their position is analogous to the leader of opposition in the central government. Given the fact that the PNM won all the divisions in the last THA elections, there is no minority leader in the house so a public interest desk was set up in lieu of this position ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017).
Assemblymen
Assemblymen are elected by the Tobagonian electorate during the election for a four-year term. The serve a similar purpose to the members of parliament in the central government. There are a total of twelve elected assemblymen ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017) ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Councillors
Councillors in Tobago are selected rather than elected in contrast to their Trinidadian counterparts and serve a function similar to the senators of the central government. The four councillors of the THA are selected by the chief secretary (three) and by the minority leader (one)("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017) ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Presiding Officer
The presiding offices serves the same role as speaker of the house in the central government, overseeing all proceedings in the house to ensure order. They are elected by the popular vote of the assemblymen ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017) ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Deputy Presiding Officer
Elected from among the assemblymen and acts a substitute for the presiding officer should they be absent ("About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly" 2017) ("The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago" 2017).
Conclusion
From this post we can get a sense of the structure of the government in Trinidad and Tobago and right away several problems are evident. It is needlessly complicated, tends to be susceptible to partisan policy-making and is not truly representative of the people. It also lacks sufficient checks and balances to prevent the ruling party from running the country in accordance with their own party agenda (an issue which was touched on in my previous post). In part two of this post, I will describe these problems in greater detail and outline my proposed solutions to them.
A final note: if I have made any errors (grammatical or factual) feel free to post a comment and I will edit the post and correct it. I apologise in advance for any that might occur.
Thanks for Reading,
Barindra
References
"About The Assembly - Tobago House Of Assembly". 2017. Tobago House Of Assembly. http://www.tha.gov.tt/about-the-assembly/.
"House Of Representatives (Trinidad And Tobago)". 2017. En.Wikipedia.Org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Representatives_(Trinidad_and_Tobago).
"Politics Of Trinidad And Tobago". 2017. En.Wikipedia.Org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Trinidad_and_Tobago.
"Republic Day". 2017. NALIS-National Library And Information System. https://www.nalis.gov.tt/Resources/Subject-Guide/Republic-Day.
"Senate (Trinidad And Tobago)". 2017. En.Wikipedia.Org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_(Trinidad_and_Tobago).
"The Local Government System In Trinidad And Tobago". 2017. Commonwealth Local Government Forum. http://www.clgf.org.uk/trinidad-and-tobago196/.
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