Chamber:
	House of Representatives
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	6 November 1995
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats of the House of Representatives following the premature dissolution of this body. General elections were previously held in December 1991.
Background and outcome of elections:
	In August 1995, the Government of Prime Minister Patrick Manning (People's National Movement - PNM) declared a state of emergency and placed the Speaker of the House of Representatives under house arrest. In October, Mr. Manning called for premature elections after the Government's parliamentary majority fell to one seat. As in the past, the PNM - in power for all but five years since independence in 1962 - was mainly opposed by the United National Congress (UNC), headed by Mr. Basdeo Panday. The latter, active throughout his career in the trade union movement, called especially for vigorous action on unemployment and crime; he also vowed to introduce anti-racial discrimination legislation. The PNM, for its part, campaigned on its record and the economic stability achieved during it rule. Polling day results left the two main adversaries deadlocked with 17 House seats each, as both gained in the popular vote at the expense of the smaller National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), which as before captured the two Tobago seats. Once again, a racial divide manifested itself in the polling, with the PNM receiving most of its support from the primarily urban Afro-Trinidadian population and the UNC being backed by the mostly rural-based Indo-Trinidadian community. Four other minor parties failed to gain representation. Given this outcome, and after the UNC and the NAR had concluded a coalition agreement, Mr. Panday was sworn in as Prime Minister on 9 November - the first Trinidadian of Indian origin to hold this post; he promised a government of "national unity". The new Cabinet was sworn in on 15 November.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (6 November 1995): Elections results
Number of registered electors	837,741
Voters	530,311 (63.3%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	4,985
Valid votes	525,326

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Candidates	Votes	%
People’s National Movement (PNM)	17	256,159	48.76
United National Congress (UNC)	17	240,372	45.76
National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR)	2	24,983	4.76

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total	Gain/Loss
People’s National Movement (PNM)	17	-4
United National Congress (UNC)	17	+4
National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR)	2	=

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	32
Women:	4

Distribution of seats according to age:
31-40 years	12
41-50 years	12
51-60 years	9
61-70 years	3
Distribution of seats according to profession:
Lawyers	9
Former MPs	7
Businessmen	5
Economists and lecturers	4
Civil servants	3
Engineers	3
Doctors	2
Others	3