The House of Representatives is the elected lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, along with the President and Senate of Trinidad and Tobago. The House of Representatives sits at the Red House. It has 41 members, each elected to represent single-seat constituencies. The Parliament is elected with a five-year term, but may be dissolved earlier by the President if so advised by the Prime Minister.

The president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is the head of state of Trinidad and Tobago and the commander-in-chief of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1976, before which the head of state was the Queen of Trinidad and Tobago, Elizabeth II. The last governor-general, Sir Ellis Clarke, was sworn in as the first president on 1 August 1976 under a transitional arrangement. He was formally chosen as president by an electoral college consisting of members of both houses of Parliament on 24 September 1976, which is now celebrated as Republic Day.