The 2023 Trinidadian local elections were held on Monday, August 14, 2023, across all 41 electoral districts in Trinidad's 14 municipal corporation electoral areas. Both parties won control of seven of the 14 corporations.
The elections follow a 3-2 ruling on May 18, 2023, from the United Kingdom's Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago's highest court of appeal, which stated that the government's one-year extension of the mandate of councillors and alderman was unlawful. The matter was brought before the Law Lords of the Privy Council by Ravi Balgobin Maharaj, and his legal team led by Anand Ramlogan, SC. The legal action taken by Ravi Balgobin Maharaj was necessary after the PNM government decided to extend the election by one year, which the Privy Council ruled was inconsistent with the rule of Democracy. The judgement handed down to Ravi Balgobin Maharaj by the Law Lords was a landmark ruling in the Commonwealth and marks the first time that a Court upheld the rights of citizens to vote in a Local Government Election.
The election also comes two years after the PNM's landslide loss in the December 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election, where the party was wiped out of office in the Tobago House of Assembly after two decades in power. Polls pointed to widespread rejection among the population for both the governing People's National Movement and the opposition United National Congress with both major parties and their leaders, Prime Minister Keith Rowley and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar being "extremely unpopular with unprecedented low approval ratings."
The Elections And Boundaries Commission (EBC) is yet to produce a map of the boundaries of all 141 electoral districts in Trinidad. With the exception of those areas that have had boundary changes, the seats up for election were last contested in the 2019 local elections. The number of electoral districts has increased from 139 to 141 with the creation of two new seats, Couva West/Roystonia in the Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo Regional Corporation and Mayaro North in the Mayaro–Rio Claro Regional Corporation and also 22 boundary changes in six other corporations: Chaguanas, Point Fortin, Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo, Penal–Debe, Siparia and Mayaro–Rio Claro. It i the first election since the establishment of regional corporations—Diego Martin and Siparia—as boroughs.
Since 1946, when the office of the mayor of the Port of Spain City Corporation was created, only men have officially served as mayor of the country's capital, despite voters in the last local elections electing a female majority city corporation slate in a historic first and the outcry from women's activists on the lack of gender equality with political parties in terms of a low number of nominations by parties of prospective female councillors and female aldermen. In 2019, both parties won control of seven of the fourteen corporations with the People's National Movement (PNM) losing their minority control status in the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation. The PNM won 72 of the then 139 electoral districts, but lost the popular vote and 11 electoral districts: Sangre Grande North West in the Sangre Grande regional corporation, Lengua/Indian Walk in the Princes Town Regional Corporation, Siparia West/Fyzabad in the Siparia Regional Corporation, Cocal/Mafeking in the Mayaro–Rio Claro Regional Corporation, Enterprise South/Longdenville North in the Chaguanas Borough Corporation, Caura/Paradise/Tacarigua in the Tunapuna–Piarco Regional Corporation, Les Effort West/La Romaine, Marabella West and Marabella West/Vistabella in the San Fernando City Corporation while gaining two from the United National Congress, in the San Juan–Laventille Regional Corporation, San Juan East and Barataria. The UNC also won the newly created districts of El Socorro/Aranguez North and La Fortune/Debe North, in the San Juan–Laventille and Penal–Debe Regional Corporation.
Seats held prior to the election The major political parties are defending the following numbers of electoral districts from municipal corporations on election day:
People's National Movement (PNM) – 72 electoral districts from 7 municipal corporations United National Congress (UNC) – 67 electoral districts from 7 municipal corporations
These numbers are how many seats each party had won at the previous election, in 2019, rather than which party held the seat on the eve of the election.
Eligibility to vote All registered electors (Trinidadians and Tobagonians, Commonwealth and Non-Commonwealth citizens) who will be aged 18 or over, resided legally in Trinidad and Tobago and have resided in an electoral district/constituency for a least two months prior to the election date are entitled to vote in the local elections.
Parties and standings Political parties registered with the Elections and Boundaries Commission can contest the local elections.
Party Founded Ideology Leader(s) Leader sinceLast election At dissolutionContested seats Notes Municipal Corporations Electoral districts Municipal Corporations Electoral districtsMajor party contesting all seats People's National Movement (PNM) 1955 Liberalism, Social liberalism, Moderate nationalismKeith Rowley May 2010 141 seatsUNC/NTA alliance United National Congress(UNC) 1989 Social democracy, Third WayKamla Persad-Bissessar January 2010 110 seats National Transformation Alliance (NTA) 2022Social liberalismGary GriffithApril 2022––––31 seatsPEP/RFA alliance Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP) 2017Social democracyPhillip AlexanderJanuary 2017 ––––48 seats Re-United Farmers Alliance (RFA)2022AgrarianismDavica ThomasApril 2023––––11 seatsMinor parties not part of any alliance Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) 2010Social democracy, Socialism of the 21st century, Anti-imperialism, Labourism, Direct democracy David Abdulah January 2012 3 seats in Point Fortin Trinidad Humanity Campaign (THC) 2015Social democracyMarcus RamkissoonJuly 2015––––4 seats Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) 2015LabourismWatson DukeDecember 2015––––17 seatsHas contested elections only in Tobago, first time contesting in TrinidadThe National Party (TNP)2017Valmiki RamsinghJuly 2017––––1 seat, Les Efforts East Cipero in San FernandoUnity of the People (UTP)2020Nickocy PhillipsJuly 2020––––1 seat in San JuanHas only contested an election in Tobago, first time contesting in Trinidad
Campaign slogans PartySlogan People's National Movement (PNM)Right people. Right reasons. Reform LG.United National Congress (UNC)Secure T&T.National Transformation Alliance (NTA)Believe. NTA is the way.Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP)We will fix it!Re-United Farmers Alliance (RFA)Time for real change. Pledge to feeding the nation Movement for Social Justice (MSJ)We represent Point! Trinidad Humanity Campaign (THC)Good governance is at your fingertips Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP)People before politics. Putting people first. The National Party (TNP)You be the change! Unity of the People (UTP)Vote for change with a difference
Opinion polls The North American Caribbean Teachers Association (NACTA) which commissions opinion polling for elections in the region, sampling the electorates' opinions, has been criticized for not being quantitative and instead being qualitative by containing no statistical figures whatsoever and also for not publishing its methodology, with missing information such as sample size, how the sample is chosen and margin of error. The pollster has also been criticized for being outdated by not having a website where the full surveys can be accessible.
Municipal Corporation projections Date Pollster Samplesize Other14 August 2023Local Election results–77023 July 2023NACTA43077023 May 2023 Two UNC councillors resign6 December 2021PNM faces a historic 14-1 loss in the December 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election; PNM ousted after 20 years in power25 January 2021PNM loses the 2021 Trinidadian local by-elections and the January 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election 2 December 2019 Local Election results – 7 7 0
Summary results Elections are conducted under the first-past-the-post system. Preliminary results are shown below. Recounts are still ongoing. PartyParty leaderCandidatesCouncillors % of councillorsVotes % of Votes20192023+/-20192023+/-20192023+/-20192023+/- United National Congress (UNC)Kamla Persad-Bissessar110677048.2%202,584173,96154.59%52.51% National Transformation Alliance (NTA)Gary Griffith31 -0 - -15,997 -4.83%UNC/NTA alliance total677048.2%202,584189,95854.59%57.34%People's National Movement (PNM)Keith Rowley141727051.8%162,801130,86843.60%39.50% Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP)Phillip Alexander 48 -0 - -5,930 -1.79% Re-United Farmers Alliance (RFA)Davica Thomas11 -0 - -1,041 -0.31%PEP/RFA alliance total -0 - -6,971 -2.10%Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP)Watson Duke17 -0 - -1,287 -0.39%Trinidad Humanity Campaign (THC)Marcus Ramkissoon4 -0 - -234 -0.07% Movement for Social Justice (MSJ)David Abdulah3000.0%2,6081640.70%0.05% Unity of the People (UTP)Nickocy Phillips1 -0 - -110 -0.03%The National Party (TNP)Valmiki Ramsingh1 -0 - -45 -0.01% Independents (IND)N/A6000.0%5210.86%Total3731391412100%100%373,437100%100%Electorate: 1,091,936 Total votes: 331,300 Turnout:30.34 %
Results by municipal corporation electoral area Municipal CorporationPrior to electionPost electionSeatsTurnoutControlPNMUNCSeatsTurnoutControlPNMUNC Arima 733.29%PNM617PNM70 Chaguanas 838.05%UNC178UNC17 Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo 1436.98%UNC01415UNC015 Diego Martin 1023.73%PNM10010PNM100 Mayaro–Rio Claro 643.53%UNC157UNC16 Penal–Debe 1039.92%UNC0910UNC010 Point Fortin 634.74%PNM606PNM60 Port of Spain 1224.40%PNM12012PNM120 Princes Town 1040.51%UNC01010UNC0*9* San Fernando 935.72%PNM639PNM54 San Juan–Laventille 1425.63%PNM12214PNM113 Sangre Grande 842.02%UNC358UNC26 Siparia 941.92%UNC369UNC36 Tunapuna–Piarco 1634.28%PNM11516PNM115All fourteen municipal corporations13934.71%71681417070Source: Report of the Elections and Boundaries Commission on the Local Government Elections held on Monday, December 2, 2019
Municipal CorporationPrior to electionPost electionControlCouncillorsControlCouncillorsTotalPNMUNCOtherTotalPNMUNCOtherArimaPNM761PNMPNM70ChaguanasUNC 81 7UNCUNC17Couva–Tabaquite–TalparoUNC 140 14UNCUNC015 Diego MartinPNM1010 0PNMPNM100 Mayaro–Rio ClaroUNC 6 1 5UNCUNC16 Penal–DebeUNC 10 0 10UNCUNC010 Point FortinPNM 6 6 0PNMPNM60 Port of SpainPNM 1212 0PNMPNM120Princes TownUNC 100 10UNCUNC0*9* San FernandoPNM 9 6 3PNMPNM54 San Juan–LaventillePNM 14 12 2PNMPNM113 Sangre GrandeUNC 83 5UNCUNC26 SipariaUNC 9 3 6UNC UNC36 Tunapuna–PiarcoPNM 16 11 5PNMPNM115Totals13971 687070
Allocation of Aldermen Prior to electionPost electionMunicipal CorporationAldermenAldermenTotalPNMUNCOtherTotalPNMUNCNTAOtherArima 43143 10Chaguanas 41 341 3 -Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo 41 340 4 - Diego Martin 4 3 143 01 Mayaro–Rio Claro 4 1 341 3 - Penal–Debe 40 440 4 - Point Fortin 44044 00 Port of Spain 44044 00Princes Town 41 341 3 - San Fernando 4 2242 2 - San Juan–Laventille 43 14220 Sangre Grande 42 242 2 - Siparia 4 2242 2 - Tunapuna–Piarco 4 2242 20Totals5629275627281
For the Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo Regional Corporation the Aldermen appointed were Anil Kamal, Paul Bandoo, Lee Dharam-Singh and Wazim Dill Mohammed. Wazim Dill Mohammed was sworn in at the age of 25 making him one of the youngest Aldermen in the country's history to ever hold the position.
See also 2022 People's National Movement internal election 2022 United National Congress internal election December 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election January 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election 2023 Guyanese local elections
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