 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2025) |
People's National Movement | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | PNM |
| Leader | Pennelope Beckles-Robinson |
| Chairperson | Nyan Gadsby-Dolly |
| General Secretary | Foster Cummings |
| Deputy Leader | Paula Gopee-Scoon |
| Leader in theSenate | Vacant |
| Leader in theHouse of Representatives | Pennelope Beckles-Robinson |
| Founder | Eric Williams |
| Founded | 24 January 1956; 69 years ago (1956-01-24) |
| Headquarters | Balisier House 1 Tranquility Street,Port of Spain,Trinidad and Tobago |
| Newspaper | MAGNUM |
| Youth wing | PNM National Youth League |
| Women's wing | PNM National Women's League |
| Membership(2022) | 105,894[1][2] |
| Ideology | Liberalism Social liberalism[3] Nationalism[4] |
| Political position | Centre tocentre-left |
| Regional affiliation | West Indies Federal Labour Party (1957–1962) |
| Colors | Red |
| Devolved or semi-autonomous branches | Tobago Council of the People's National Movement |
| Senate | 6 / 31 |
| House of Representatives | 13 / 41 |
| Tobago House of Assembly | 1 / 15 |
| Regional corporations | 7 / 13 |
| Regional municipalities | 71 / 141 |
| Indirectly elected mayors | 5 / 7 |
| Indirectly elected Aldermen | 29 / 56 |
| Election symbol | |
 Balisier flower | |
ThePeople's National Movement (PNM) is the longest-serving and oldest activepolitical party inTrinidad and Tobago. The party has dominated national and local politics for much of Trinidad and Tobago's history, contesting all elections since1956 serving as the nation's governing party or on four occasions, the main opposition. It is one out of the country's two main political parties.[5][6][7] There have been five PNMPrime Ministers and multiple ministries. The party espouses the principles ofliberalism[8][9][10][11][12] and generally sits at thecentre[13][14][15] tocentre-left[16][17] of the political spectrum.
The party was founded in 1956 byEric Williams, who took inspiration fromNorman Manley'sdemocratic socialistcentre-leftPeople's National Party inJamaica.[18][19] It won the1956 General Elections and went on to hold power for an unbroken 30 years. After the death of Williams in 1981,George Chambers led the party. The party was defeated in the1986 General Elections, losing 33–3 to theNational Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR). Under the leadership ofPatrick Manning, the party returned to power in 1991 following the 1990 attempted coup by theJamaat al-Muslimeen, but lost power in 1995 to theUnited National Congress (UNC). The PNM lost again to the UNC in the2000 General Elections, but a split in the UNC forced new elections in 2001. These elections resulted in an 18–18 tie between the PNM and the UNC, and PresidentArthur N. R. Robinson appointed Manning as Prime Minister. Manning was unable to elect a Speaker of theHouse of Representatives, but won an outright majority in new elections held in 2002 and again in 2007, before losing power in 2010. It returned to power in the2015 general election underKeith Rowley where it had its best result since the1981 general election, winning 51.7 percent of the popular vote and 23 of the 41 seats. In the2020 general election, they won the popular vote and a majority in the House of Representatives, winning 22 seats.
The party symbol is the balisier flower (Heliconia bihai) and the Party's political headquarters is known as the "Balisier House" located inPort of Spain. Historically, the PNM has been supported by a majority ofAfro–Trinidadians and Tobagonians and theCreole-Mulatto population,[20][21] thus it is colloquially called theBlack Party, theAfrican Party, or theCreole Party.[22][23][24][25] The PNM has its strongest support in cities and urban areas.[26] It was also historically supported by different minorities such as theChinese, ChristianIndians (other than Presbyterian Indians), and Muslims of any ethnicity of the country.[27][28][20][21]
The PNM's signature policies and legislative decisions include independence, writing theConstitution of Trinidad and Tobago, republicanism, the establishment of theTobago House of Assembly, thePublic Transport Service Corporation, theWater Taxi Service,universal preschool,primary andsecondary education,universal health care, criminalizingchild marriage and decriminalizingcannabis.[29][30][31][32]
The PNM has been in opposition since the2025 general election.[33] They had previously been in government since the2015 general election, when the party held anoverall majority of 22 out of 41Members of Parliament in theHouse of Representatives and 16 out of 31 members of theSenate. The party has 72 out of the 139 local councillors and is in control of seven of the 14regional corporations since the2019 Trinidadian local elections. The party also has one out of 12 assembly members in theTobago House of Assembly since theDecember 2021 Tobago House of Assembly elections.
Despite not being a socialist party, the PNM was a member of thedemocratic socialistWest Indies Federal Labour Party in theFederal Parliament of the West Indies Federation from 1957 to 1962. The party includes a semi-autonomousTobagonian branch known as theTobago Council of the People's National Movement. As of September 2018, the PNM has 100,000+ registered members.[34][35]
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When Eric Williams returned to Trinidad in 1948 he set about developing a political base. Between 1948 and 1955 he delivered a series of political lectures, under the auspices of the Political Education Movement (PEM) a branch of the Teachers Education and Cultural Association.Naparima College is one of the locations at which such lectures were delivered.[36] On 15 January 1956 Williams launched the PNM. In the1956 General Elections the PNM captured 13 of the 24 elected seats in theLegislative Council with 38.7% of the votes cast. In order to secure an outright majority in the Legislative Council Williams managed to convince the Secretary of State for the Colonies to allow him to name the five appointed members of the council (despite the opposition of theGovernorSir Edward Betham Beetham).[37] This gave him a clear majority in the Legislative Council. Williams was thus elected Chief Minister and was also able to get all seven of his ministers elected.
In the1958 Federal Elections (which the PNM contested as part of theWest Indies Federal Labour Party), it won four of the 10 Trinidad and Tobago seats with 47.4% of the vote. TheOpposition,Democratic Labour Party won the other six seats.[38]
In the1961 General Elections the PNM won 20 of 30 seats with 58% of the vote. With the collapse of the West Indian Federation, the PNM led Trinidad and Tobago to independence on 31 August 1962.
In the1966 General Elections the PNM won 24 of 36 seats, with 52% of the vote. However, economic and social discontent grew under PNM rule. This came to a climax in April 1970 with theBlack Power Revolution. On 13 April, PNM Deputy Leader and Minister of External AffairsA. N. R. Robinson resigned from the party and government. On 20 April, facing a revolt by a portion of the Army in collusion with the growingBlack Power movement, Williams declared aState of Emergency.[39] By 22 April, the mutineers had begun negotiations for surrender. Following this certain ministers were forced to resign including John O'Halloran, Minister of Industry and Gerard Montano, Minister of Home Affairs.
In the1971 General Elections the PNM faced only limited opposition as the major opposition partiesboycotted the election citing the use of voting machines.[40] The PNM captured all 36 seats in the election, including eight that they carried unopposed. Additionally, Williams split the post of Deputy Leader into three and appointed Kamaluddin Mohammed, Errol Mahabir andGeorge Chambers to the position.
In 1972, J. R. F. Richardson crossed the floor and declared himself an Independent.[41] He was subsequently appointedLeader of the Opposition. He was soon joined by another MP, Dr. Horace Charles.
In 1973, the PNM faced a major crisis. On 28 September Williams announced that he would not stand for re-election. This led to a race to succeed him as Political Leader of the party. By 18 November 250 of 476 registered party groups had submitted nominations, 224 of them forAttorney GeneralKarl Hudson-Phillips and 26 for Minister of Health, Kamaluddin Mohammed. Williams announced on 2 December that he would return as Political Leader and Hudson-Phillips was forced out of the party.[42]
In 1976 the PNM won 24 of 36 seats with 54% of the vote. In March 1978, Hector McClean, Minister of Works, resigned from the party and government and declared himself an independent MP.
On 29 March 1981, Eric Williams died. Williams had maintained an iron grip over the party and forced all potential rivals out of the party. In the absence of a clear successor, PresidentEllis Clarke was left to choose the new Prime Minister from among the three Deputy Political Leaders of the party. Clarke appointedGeorge Chambers Prime Minister in preference toKamaluddin Mohammed andErrol Mahabir.[43] Chambers was subsequently elected as Political Leader of the PNM and led the party to victory in the1981 General Elections. The PNM won 26 of 36 seats and 52% of the vote.
It subsequently held on to power until 1986 when it was defeated by theNational Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) under the leadership ofA. N. R. Robinson. The PNM won three of 36 seats, with 32% of the vote. Chambers resigned and was succeeded byPatrick Manning as Political Leader.[44]
When Manning became leader he promised a "new PNM" and purposely ignored the discredited old guard. He appointedWendell Mottley, Keith Rowley and Augustus Ramrekersingh as his deputy leaders.[45]
The PNM was returned to power in the 1991 elections after the NAR self-destructed. In the 1991 election it won 21 of 36 seats with 45% of the vote. However, in the latter half of that term the party became unstable. It lost one seat in a by-election and another when Ralph Maraj defected to theUnited National Congress. The issue that led Maraj to defect was the declaration of a limited State of Emergency which sole purpose was to removeOccah Seepaul (Maraj's sister) as Speaker of the House of Representatives.[46] The party also suffered a loss of support with the death Minister of Public Utilities, Morris Marshall, a favourite of the party grassroots. Attempting to halt the decline in party support Manning called an early "snap election" in 1995 . Many party front-benchers did not seek reelection including Finance MinisterWendell Mottley.
The party lost the1995 General Elections winning 17 of 36 seats with 48% of the vote. TheUnited National Congress (UNC) under the leadership ofBasdeo Panday also won 17 seats and formed a coalition government with the National Alliance for Reconstruction which had won the remaining two seats. The PNM was further weakened when two MPs resigned from the party and threw their support behind the UNC government. This led to numerous calls for Manning to resign the party leadership, and for calls for Mottley to replace him. Manning declined to resign and Mottley appeared to have taken a sabbatical from politics. When leadership elections were held in 1997 Manning was challenged by Keith Rowley. Manning was returned as Political Leader.
In 2000 the PNM suffered another defeat, winning 16 of 36 seats with 46% of the vote. Another election was held in 2001 which resulted in a tie with both the PNM and UNC winning 18 seats, the PNM with 46% of the electoral vote and the UNC with 50%. However PresidentArthur N.R. Robinson appointed Manning as Prime Minister on the basis of "moral and spiritual grounds". (In Trinidad and Tobago's elections, the number of seats needed to occupy the lower house is really the best indicator of whether or not a party would win elections). Unable to elect a Speaker, Manning advised the President to prorogue Parliament. On 7 October 2002General Elections were held in which the PNM won 50.7% of popular votes and 20 out of 36 seats.[47]
The PNM won a majority government in the2015 Trinidad and Tobago general election. On 9 September 2015,Keith Rowley was sworn in as the new Prime Minister, following theelection victory of the PNM.[48]In August 2020, the governing PNM won the followinggeneral election, leading to the incumbent Prime Minister Keith Rowley serving a second term.[49] He resigned in March 2025 and was succeeded byStuart Young.[50] He led the party into the2025 Trinidad and Tobago general election.[51] In the election the party was defeated by theUnited National Congress.[52]
The political leaders of the People's National Movement have been as follows (any acting leaders indicated in italics):[53][54]
Key:
PNM UNC NAR
PM:Prime Minister
LO:Leader of the Opposition
†: Died in office
| Leader | Term of Office | Position | Prime Minister | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Williams | | 24 January 1956[55] | 29 March 1981† | PM1955–1981 | himself | |
| 2 | George Chambers | .jpg) | 30 March 1981[56] | 8 February 1987 | PM1981–1986 | himself | |
| 3 | Patrick Manning | | 8 February 1987 | 26 May 2010 | LO1986–1991 | Robinson | |
| PM1991–1995 | himself | ||||||
| LO1995–2001 | Panday | ||||||
| PM2001–2010 | himself | ||||||
| 4 | Keith Rowley | | 26 May 2010 | 1 May 2025 | LO2010–2015 | Persad-Bissessar | |
| PM2015–2025 | himself | ||||||
| 5 | Pennelope Beckles-Robinson | .jpg) | 29 June 2025 | Incumbent | LO2025–present | Persad-Bissessar | |
| This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2025) |
The deputy political leaders of the People's National Movement have been as follows (any acting leaders indicated in italics):
| Deputy Leader | Term | Concurrent Office(s) | Deputy Leader | Term | Concurrent Office(s) | Deputy Leader | Term | Concurrent Office(s) | Deputy Leader | Term | Concurrent Office(s) | Leader(s) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Solomon[57] (1910-1997) MP forPort of Spain South |  | 1956 | 1966 |
| Williams | ||||||||||||||||||||
| A. N. R. Robinson[58] (1926-2014) MP forTobago East | .jpg) | 1967 | 1970 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| George Chambers (1928-1997) MP forSt. Ann's East | | 1971 | 30 March 1981 | Errol Mahabir (1931-2015) MP forSan Fernando West | | 1971 | Kamaluddin Mohammed(1927-2015)MP forBarataria | | 1971 | ||||||||||||||||
| Keith Rowley (born 1949) MP forDiego Martin West | | 1987 | 1995 | Wendell Mottley(born 1941) MP forSt. Ann's East | | Augustus Ramrekersingh(born )MP forSt. Joseph | |
| Manning | ||||||||||||||||
| Joan Yuille-Williams (born ) (party and elections) |  | 1996[59] | 14 January 2023[60] |
| Kenneth Valley (1948-2011) MP for | | Nafeesa Mohammed(born ) | | 1997 | 2011 |
| Orville London(born 1945[61]) (Tobago) AM for Scarborough/Calder Hall | .jpg) | 1998[62] | 3 July 2016 | Chief Secretary of Tobago | |||||||||
| Rohan Sinanan (born )(policy (2010-2023) (party and election matters (2023-present) | | Incumbent |
| Marlene McDonald (born )(legislation) MP forPort of Spain South | | 13 August 2019 |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Rowley | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fitzgerald Hinds(born 1956[63]) (legislation) MP forLaventille West | | 10 November 2019 | 14 January 2023[60] |
| Kelvin Charles(born 1957[64])(Tobago) AM for Black Rock/Whim/Spring Garden | .jpg) | 3 July 2016 | 26 January 2020 | Chief Secretary of Tobago | ||||||||||||||||
| Tracy Davidson-Celestine (born 1978)(Tobago) | .png) | 26 January 2020 | 1 May 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The deputy political leaders who additionally served as the political leaders of theTobago Council of the People's National Movement have been as follows (any acting leaders indicated in italics):
Key:
PNM PDP
MaL:Majority Leader
MiL:Minority Leader
| Leader | Term | Position | Chief Secretary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orville London | | 2001 | 3 July 2016 | MaL2001–2017 | himself | |
| 2 | Kelvin Charles | | 3 July 2016 | 26 January 2020 | MaL2017–2020 | himself | |
| 3 | Tracy Davidson-Celestine | | 26 January 2020 (Elected) | 1 May 2022 | None (lost theDecember 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election for her electoral district) | Kelvin Charles | |
| Ancil Dennis | |||||||
| Farley Chavez Augustine | |||||||
| 4 | Ancil Dennis | .jpg) | 1 May 2022 (Elected) | None (lost theDecember 2021 Tobago House of Assembly election for his electoral district) | Farley Chavez Augustine | ||
| Position | Officeholder | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Political Leader | Vacant | ||
| Chairman | Vacant | ||
| Lady Vice-Chairman | Camille Robinson-Regis | ||
| Vice-Chairman | Vacant | ||
| Deputy Political Leader | Legislative Matters | Vacant | |
| Policy Matters | Vacant | ||
| Party and Election Matters | Vacant | ||
| Tobago Council Political Leader | Ancil Dennis | ||
| General Secretary | Foster Cummings | ||
| Assistant General Secretary | Patricia Alexis | ||
| Treasurer | Kazim Hosein | ||
| Public Relations Officer | Faris Al-Rawi | ||
| Education Officer | Laurel Lezama-Lee Sing | ||
| Labour Relations Officer | Jennifer Baptiste-Primus | ||
| Elections Officer | Indar Parasam | ||
| Field Officer | Terrence Beepath | ||
| Welfare Officer | Maxine Richards | ||
| Youth Officer | Jeniece Scott | ||
| Operations Officer | Irene Hinds | ||
| Social Media Officer | Kwasi Robinson | ||
| Position | Officeholder | |
|---|---|---|
| Chairperson | Patrick Phillip | |
| Position | Officeholder | |
|---|---|---|
| Chairwoman | Camille Robinson-Regis | |
Tobago House of Assembly Seats | |
|---|---|
| Tobago House of Assembly | 1 / 15 |
Tobago has its own PNM party with separate memberships, constituency associations,executives, offices and a political leader.
| Party | Leader | Last election | Government | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Votes (%) | Seats | |||||
| Tobago Council of the PNM | Ancil Dennis | | 2021 | 40.8 | 1 / 15 | Progressive Democratic Patriots | |
 | This graph was using thelegacy Graph extension, which is no longer supported. It needs to be converted to thenew Chart extension. |
| Election | Party leader | Votes | Seats | Position | Government | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | ± | No. | ± | |||||
| 1956 | Eric Williams | 105,513 | 39.8% | — | 13 / 24 |  13 | 1st | PNM | |
| 1961 | 190,003 | 57.0% | 17.2 | 20 / 30 | 7 |  1st | PNM | ||
| 1966 | 158,573 | 52.4% |  4.6 | 24 / 36 | 4 | 1st | PNM | ||
| 1971 | 99,723 | 84.1% | 31.7 | 36 / 36 | 12 | 1st | PNM | ||
| 1976 | 169,194 | 54.2% | 29.9 | 24 / 36 | 12 | 1st | PNM | ||
| 1981 | George Chambers | 218,557 | 52.9% | 1.3 | 26 / 36 | 2 | 1st | PNM | |
| 1986 | 183,635 | 32.0% | 20.9 | 3 / 36 | 23 | 2nd | NAR | ||
| 1991 | Patrick Manning | 233,150 | 45.1% | 13.1 | 21 / 36 | 18 | 1st | PNM | |
| 1995 | 256,159 | 48.8% | 3.7 | 17 / 36 | 4 | 1st | UNC–NAR | ||
| 2000 | 276,334 | 46.5% | 2.3 | 16 / 36 | 1 | 2nd | UNC | ||
| 2001 | 260,075 | 46.5% | | 18 / 36 | 2 | 2nd | PNM Minority | ||
| 2002 | 308,762 | 50.9% | 4.4 | 20 / 36 | 2 | 1st | PNM | ||
| 2007 | 299,813 | 45.85% | 5.05 | 26 / 41 | 6 | 1st | PNM | ||
| 2010 | 285,354 | 39.65% | 6.2 | 12 / 41 | 14 | 2nd | PP | ||
| 2015 | Keith Rowley | 378,447 | 51.68% | 12.03 | 23 / 41 | 11 | 1st | PNM | |
| 2020 | 322,250 | 49.08% | 2.6 | 22 / 41 | 1 | 1st | PNM | ||
| 2025 | Stuart Young | 224,403 | 36.18% | 12.9 | 13 / 41 | 9 | 2nd | COI | |
| This graph was using thelegacy Graph extension, which is no longer supported. It needs to be converted to thenew Chart extension. |
| Election | Party Group | Leader | Votes | Seats | Position | Government | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Share | No. | Share | ||||||||
| 1958[38] | WIFLP | Eric Williams | 119,527 | 47.4% | 4 / 10 | 40.0% | 2nd | WIFLP | |||
| This graph was using thelegacy Graph extension, which is no longer supported. It needs to be converted to thenew Chart extension. |
| Election[65] | Votes | Councillors | Corporations | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leader | No. | Vote share | ± | No. | ± | No. | ± | ||
| 1959 | Eric Williams | 140,275 | 48.1% | — | 33 / 72 | 33 | ? | ||
| 1968 | ? | 49.4% | 1.3% | 68 / 100 | 35 | ? | |||
| 1971 | 12,287 | 52.1% | 2.7% | 90 / 100 | 22 | ? | |||
| 1977 | 64,725 | 51.1% | 1.0% | 68 / 100 | 22 | ? | |||
| 1980 | 74,667 | 57.8% | 6.7% | 100 / 113 | 31 | 11 / 11 | |||
| 1983[66] | George Chambers | ? | 39.1% | 18.7% | 54 / 120 | 46 | 5 / 11 | 6 | |
| 1987[66] | Patrick Manning | ? | 39.3% | 0.2% | 46 / 125 | 8 | 3 / 11 | 2 | |
| 1992 | 154.818 | 50.3% | 11.0% | 86 / 139 | 40 | 10 / 14 | 7 | ||
| 1996 | 155,585 | 43.7% | 6.6% | 63 / 124 | 23 | 7 / 14 | 3 | ||
| 1999 | 157,631 | 46.6% | 2.6% | 67 / 124 | 4 | 7 / 14 | | ||
| 2003 | 172,525 | 53.3% | 6.4% | 83 / 126 | 16 | 9 / 14 | 2 | ||
| 2010 | Keith Rowley | 130,505 | 33.6% | 19.7% | 36 / 134 | 47 | 5 / 14 | 4 | |
| 2013 | 190,421 | 42.3% | 8.7% | 84 / 136 | 48 | 8 / 14 | 3 | ||
| 2016 | 174,754 | 48.2% | 5.9% | 83 / 137 | 1 | 8 / 14 | | ||
| 2019 | 161,962 | 43.5% | 4.7% | 72 / 139 | 9 | 7 / 14 | 1 | ||
| 2023 | 130,868 | 39.5% | 4.1% | 70 / 141 | 2 | 7 / 14 | | ||
| This graph was using thelegacy Graph extension, which is no longer supported. It needs to be converted to thenew Chart extension. |
| Election[67] | Leader | Votes | Seats | Position | Government | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | ± | No. | ± | |||||
| 1980 | Eric Williams (National party leader) | 7,097 | 44.4 | — | 4 / 12 | 4 | 2nd | DAC | |
| 1984 | George Chambers (National party leader) | 8,200 | 41.4 | 3.0 | 1 / 12 | 3 | 2nd | DAC | |
| 1988 | Patrick Manning (National party leader) | 5,977 | 35.8 | 5.6 | 1 / 12 | | 2nd | DAC | |
| 1992 | 6,555 | 36.7 | 0.9 | 1 / 12 | | 2nd | NAR | ||
| 1996 | 5,023 | 33.6 | 4.1 | 1 / 12 | | 2nd | NAR | ||
| 2001 | Orville London | 10,500 | 46.7 | 13.3 | 8 / 12 | 7 | 1st | PNM | |
| 2005 | 12,137 | 58.4 | 11.7 | 11 / 12 | 3 | 1st | PNM | ||
| 2009 | 12,311 | 51.2 | 7.2 | 8 / 12 | 3 | 1st | PNM | ||
| 2013 | 19,976 | 61.2 | 10.0 | 12 / 12 | 4 | 1st | PNM | ||
| 2017 | Kelvin Charles | 13,310 | 54.7 | 6.5 | 10 / 12 | 2 | 1st | PNM | |
| January 2021 | Tracy Davidson-Celestine | 13,288 | 50.4 | 4.3 | 6 / 12 | 4 | 1st | Caretaker | |
| December 2021 | 11,943* | 40.8* | 9.6* | 1 / 15 | 5 | 2nd | PDP | ||
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