A Brief Historical Journey. Part 3 The Present Political Structure: The Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago has two chambers. The House of Representatives has 41 members, elected for a maximum five year term in single-seat constituencies . The Senate has 31 members: 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 so-called Independent Senators appointed by the President to represent other sectors of civil society. The president is elected for a five year term by an electoral college consisting of the members of both houses of Parliament. Other elected bodies include: Local Government bodies in Trinidad : 2 Cities: Port of Spain and San Fernando 3 Boroughs: Arima, Point Fortin and Chaguanas. 9 Regional Corporations And The Tobago House of Assembly which handles local government in the island of Tobago and is entrenched in the Constitution. To answer your question, having been around during the transition from Colonialism to Self Rule, then Pre the advent of the PNM there was to my knowledge no cohesive political party as we know it today. Independence followed by our becoming a Republic, I can give some account but this would be from my perspective. There were followers of figureheads like: Buzz Butler: Butler is looked upon as the founding father of the Oilfields Workers Trade Union (OWTU) and the labour movement and is honoured with a statue in Fyzabad. He was awarded the Trinity Cross, the nations highest honour, in 1970. In the 1956 General Elections the Butler Party won only two seats. Butler, the fiery radical, was deemed too unstable and threatening to the nations economic well-being by Eric Williams and the Peoples National Movement Arthur Andrew Cipriani: He retired from public life in 1944, having never lost his seat on the City Council since he had first been elected to it in 1921. His eight terms as Mayor remains a record. He passed away in the year 1945. A statue to his memory was erected in Port-of-Spain. It was unveiled on April 17, 1959 by Chief Minister Dr. Eric Williams, who declared on the occasion: “Captain Cipriani is the pioneer of the nationalist movement of Trinidad and Tobago. Adrian Cola Rienzi : (born Krishna Deonarine in 1905, died Desh Bandu (National Patriot) on July 21, 1972) was a Trinidad and Tobago trade unionist, politician and lawyer. He founded both the Oilfields Workers Trade Union and the All Trinidad Sugar Estates and Factory Workers Union, and was involved in the establishment of three other trade unions. He was also the first president of the Trinidad and Tobago Trades Union Council, from its foundation in 1938 until 1944. Dr. Rudrinath Capildeo Classified as a genius, he was born in 1920 to Pundit Capildeo and his wife Soogee (from the Chaguanas Promenade area), and grew up in the Lion House Chaguanas. He was educated at Queen’s Royal College in Port-of-Spain where he won an island scholarship in 1938. In 1943, Dr. Capildeo attended the University of London where he obtained a B.Sc. in Mathematics and Physics, a M.Sc. in Mathematics in 1945 and also his Ph.D. in Mathematical Physics in 1948. He was a Trinidadian politician and mathematician. This distinguished gentleman was the Leader of the Democratic Labour Party from 1960-1969 and the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament from 1961-1963. He was a world renowned figure and a man of amazing vision. In 1969, he was awarded the Trinity Cross. He died on the 12th May 1970. After the attainment of Independence, Ellis Clarke became a foreign diplomat, holding numerous posts between 1962 to 1976, sometimes simultaneously, including Trinidad and Tobago’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Upon proclamation of Republican status on 24th September 1976, the post of Governor General became obsolete. Following a meeting of the Electoral College, as provided by the constitution, Ellis Clarke was elected unopposed as President becoming the first President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, an office he held until 1987. Ellis Clarke was involved in the draft constitution, culminating in his attendance at the Marlborough House Conference held in London from 28th May to 8th June 1962. He was bestowed the Companion of St. Michael and St. George in 1960, and made a Knight Bachelor in 1963. He was one of the first to be awarded the country’s highest honour: the Trinity Cross in 1969. He also holds El Gran Cordon, the highest national award in Venezuela. UWI has given him an honorary doctor of laws degree. In his legal career he soon showed notable ability. After 13 years of practice he was drafted into the Civil Service as Solicitor General from 1954-56, later as Deputy Colonial Secretary. Designated as Chief Justice, Clarke never took up the post and was instead asked to be Constitutional Adviser to Cabinet from 1961. It was the period before the 1962 Independence and his were the skills that helped draft the Constitution and iron out details with the Opposition Democratic Labour Party. After the retirement of Sir Solomon Hochoy as Governor General, Clarke by then Sir Ellis took over. He served two terms as President. This was from 1976, serving the country through the death of Eric Williams in 1981 and the defeat of the long ruling PNM in 1986. Alvin
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 21:03:33 +0000
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