Progressive Party (Trinidad and Tobago)

This article is about the Trinidad and Tobago Progressive Party. For other uses, see Progressive Party (disambiguation).

The Progressive Party (colloquially known as "The Progressives") is a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party was founded on June 16, 2019 by former independent senator Nikoli Edwards to contest the 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election.^[3][4][5] The Progressives currently do not hold any seats in the House of Representatives, Regional municipalities, Regional corporations or in the Tobago House of Assembly.

Progressive Party
Leader	Nikoli Edwards
Chairperson	vacant
Deputy Leader	Morgan Ramkallawan
Founder	Nikoli Edwards
Founded	June 16, 2019 (2019-06-16)
Ideology	Progressivism Decentralization[1]
Political position	Centre to centre-left[2]
Colors	Blue
House of Representatives	0 / 41
Regional municipalities	0 / 139
Regional corporations	0 / 14
Tobago House of Assembly	0 / 12
Election symbol
Guiding Flame
Website
http://progressives.tt/
Politics of Trinidad and Tobago Political parties Elections

History

The Progressive Party held its first General Meeting in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago on December 15, 2019. At that meeting, the party's constitution was ratified, and six of the seven members of the Board of Directors were appointed. The Board of Directors will serve until the Party General Assembly of 2021. In his keynote address, Party Leader Nikoli Edwards outlined his party's policies and vision for Trinidad and Tobago, stating that Trinidad could not achieve progress under the two leading parties in Trinidad, the United National Congress (UNC) and the ruling People's National Movement (PNM).

At the first General Meeting, Edwards made the declaration that he will be contesting the constituency of San Fernando West which is currently represented by Faris Al-Rawi, Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago.^[6]

List of political leaders

The political leaders of the Progressive Party have been as follows (any acting leaders indicated in italics):

Key:

  Progressive   UNC   PNM

PM: Prime Minister

LO: Leader of the Opposition

Leader			Term of Office		Position	Prime Minister
1	Nikoli Edwards		15 December 2019	Incumbent			Rowley

Electoral history

House of Representatives

Election		Party leader	Votes			Seats		Position	Government
			No.	%	±	No.	±
	2020	Nikoli Edwards	211	0.03		0 / 41		13th	PNM

Party leadership

Position		Officeholder	Term of Office		Constituency
	Party Chairperson	vacant
	Political Leader	Nikoli Edwards	December 15, 2019	Incumbent	Candidate for San Fernando West
	Deputy Political Leader	Morgan Ramkallawan	December 15, 2019	Incumbent
	Secretary		December 15, 2019	Incumbent
	Chief Policy and Strategy Officer	Kieran Khan	December 15, 2019	Incumbent
	Chief Financial Officer	Nichelle Baptiste	December 15, 2019	Incumbent
	Chief Communications Officer	Anthony Burnley	December 15, 2019	Incumbent

Political positions

The Progressives identify with progressivism, as well as the centre-left. The party believes in maintaining a small to moderately-sized government that focuses on helping citizens to realise their fullest potential in a reasonably regulated environment.^[7]