The Elections and Boundaries Commission is the successor institution of two separate bodies:
- a Boundaries Commission and
- an Elections Commission, these having been amalgamated in the Republican Constitution enacted in 1976.
Part IV of Chapter 4 of this Constitution provides inter alia for the establishment of the Commission, its membership, specific responsibility for “registration of voters and the conduct of elections in every constituency”, and “Procedure for review of constituency boundaries.”
Part V provides for the System of Balloting and also refers to the Second Schedule of the Constitution in which the Rules are set out for the delimitation of constituency boundaries.
Responsible for setting its own agenda, the Commission gives policy directions to the staff headed by a Chief Election Officer. Some members of staff are appointed by the Public Service Commission (PSC) but the Commission is authorized to recruit on a short-term basis, other persons to perform functions that are largely related to registration of electors, administrative preparations for the conduct of elections and field operations throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Some members of staff are employed on contract.