State of Emergency: Parliament To Debate Motion Today To Extend SoE By Another THREE (3) Months

UPDATE 2: The motion to extend the State of Emergency (SoE) for a second time was passed in the House of Representatives with twenty-seven (27) Government votes in favour and twelve (12) Opposition votes against. There were no abstentions. 

The Government now has an additional three (3) months of enhanced emergency powers, despite fierce objections from the Opposition. Attorney General John Jeremie, who piloted the motion, insisted the SoE remained a critical national-security instrument to support active operations targeting criminal gangs and organized crime networks.

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UPDATE: Watch the live stream of the debate below:

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Parliament will meet at 1:30 PM this afternoon (Friday 31st October, 2025) to debate a motion to extend the current State of Emergency (SoE) for an additional three (3) months. This new motion, to be piloted by Attorney General John Jeremie, will bring the total period of the SoE to six (6) months, once approved.

The Government first declared the start of the SoE on 18th July, 2025, after Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro publicly stated that an amalgamation of criminal gangs was intent on targeting a list of public figures from the fields of politics and criminal justice. The House of Representatives then voted on 28th July, 2025 to extend it by three (3) months.

Section 10 of the Trinidad and Tobago Constitution details the procedure for approving successive extensions. The first two (2) extensions, each of three (3) months, require just a simple majority of votes in the House.

According to Section 10(1), “Before its expiration the Proclamation may be extended from time to time by resolution supported by a simple majority vote of the House of Representatives, so, however, that no extension exceeds three (3) months and the extensions do not in the aggregate exceed six (6) months.”

The Constitution requires the SoE to have a more rigorous Parliamentary oversight after two (2) extensions, totaling six (6) months. Any future third extension would therefore have to be approved by a special majority in the House and also then go on to garner the approval of the Senate.

More on this as it becomes available. 

This is a developing story - refresh this page for updates.