At stake in this election:      

• The 41 seats in the House of Representatives[1]

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Anthony CARMONA*
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Kamla PERSAD-BISSESSAR**
• Assembly: Trinidad and Tobago has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate with 31 seats and the House of Representatives with 41 seats.

* The President is elected by indirect vote by an electoral college consisting of ten senators, the Speaker, and twelve members of the House of Representatives.

** The president usually appoints the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives

Description of electoral system:

• The President is indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve a 5-year term.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the President to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Senate, 16 members are appointed by the ruling party to serve 5-year terms, 6 members are appointed by the opposition to serve 5-year terms and 9 members are appointed by the president to serve 5-year terms. In the House of Representatives 41 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: United National Congress (UNC)

Leader: Kamla PERSAD-BISSESSAR

Seats won in last election: 22

• Party: People's National Movement (PNM)

Leader: Keith ROWLEY

Seats won in last election: 12

• Party: Congress of the People (COP)

Leader: Prakash RAMADHAR

Seats won in last election: 5

• Party: Tobago Organization of the People (TOP)

Leader: Ashworth JACK

Seats won in last election: 2

Last election:

• The last election for the House of Representatives was held on 24 May 2010.  There were 1,040,128 registered voters for the election.  The United National Congress (UNC) won 22 seats, the Congress of the People (COP) won 5 seats, the Tobago Organization of the People (TOP) won 2 seats, and the People's National Movement (PNM) won 12 seats.[2] 

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 1,223,916 (2014 est.)[3]
• Registered Voters: 1,040,128[4]

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 603,750 (2014 est.)[5]
• Is Trinidad and Tobago a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (27 June 1985)
• Has Trinidad and Tobago ratified CEDAW: Yes (12 January 1990)[6]
• Gender Quota: No
• Female Candidates in this election: Yes
• Number of Female Legislators: 12 (29%)[7] of 41 seats in the House of Representatives
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 64[8]
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low[9]

Disability Data:

• Is Trinidad and Tobago a signatory to CRPD: Yes (27 September 2007)
• Has Trinidad and Tobago ratified CRPD: No[10]