Politics of Antigua and Barbuda
| Antigua and Barbuda |
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The politics of Antigua and Barbuda takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, wherein the Sovereign of Antigua and Barbuda is the head of state, appointing a Governor-General to act as vice-regal representative in the nation. A Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General as the head of government, and of a multi-party system; the Prime Minister advises the Governor-General on the appointment of a Council of Ministers. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament. The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (seventeen-member body appointed by the Governor General) and the House of Representatives (seventeen seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms).
Antigua and Barbuda has a long history of free elections, three of which have resulted in peaceful changes of government. Since the 1951 general election, the party system has been dominated by the personalist Antigua Labour Party (ALP), dominated by the Bird family, particularly Prime Ministers Vere and Lester Bird. The opposition claimed to be disadvantaged by the ALP's longstanding monopoly on patronage and its control of the media, especially in the 1999 general election. The most recent elections to the House of Representatives were held on 12 March 2009. The United Progressive Party government was re-elected with nine seats and supported by the sole member from Barbuda, affiliated to the Barbuda People's Movement. The Antigua Labour Party has seven seats in the House of Representatives.
Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association. Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the eastern Caribbean court system. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on English common law.
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[edit] Executive branch
As head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is represented in Antigua and Barbuda by a governor general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet.
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen | Elizabeth II | 6 February 1952 | |
| Governor-General | Louise Lake-Tack | 17 July 1993 | |
| Prime Minister | Baldwin Spencer | UPP | March 2004 |
[edit] Legislative branch
Antigua and Barbuda elects on national level a legislature. Parliament has two chambers. The House of Representatives has 19 members, 17 members elected for a five year term in single-seat constituencies, 1 ex-officio member and 1 Speaker. The Senate has 17 appointed members. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House and conducts affairs of state with the cabinet. The prime minister and the cabinet are responsible to the Parliament. Elections must be held at least every five years but may be called by the prime minister at any time.
There are special legislative provisions to account for Barbuda's low population relative to that of Antigua. Barbuda is guaranteed one member of the House of Representatives and two members of the Senate. In addition, there is a Barbuda Council to govern the internal affairs of the island.
[edit] Political parties and elections
| Parties | Votes | +/− | % | +/− | Seats | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Progressive Party | 21,205 | −887 | 51.1 | −1.8 | 9 | −3 |
| Antigua Labour Party | 19,460 | +2,916 | 47.0 | +5.2 | 7 | +3 |
| Barbuda People's Movement | 474 | +66 | 1.1 | +0.1 | 1 | ±0 |
| Independents | 194 | +15 | 0.5 | +0.0 | — | — |
| Organisation for National Development | 119 | +119 | 0.3 | +0.3 | — | — |
| Total | 41,452 | — | 100.0 | — | 17 | — |
| Source: Political Database of the Americas (1999). "Antigua & Barbuda: Election Results". Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University and the Organization of American States. http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Elecdata/Antigua/antigua.html. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
Caribbean Elections (2009). "General Election Results 2009". http://caribbeanelections.com/antigua/results/default.asp. Retrieved 22 January 2010. |
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- More info: Antigua and Barbuda general election, 2009
[edit] Administrative divisions
6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip
[edit] Judicial branch
Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. This court is headquartered in Saint Lucia, but at least one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Antigua and Barbuda, and presides over the High Court of Justice. The current High Court judges are The Hon. David Courtenay Harris, The Hon. Francis Mortimer Cumberbatch, and The Hon. Mario Michel.[1]
Antigua is also a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice, although it has not yet acceeded to Part III of the 2001 Agreement Establishing a Caribbean Court of Justice.[2] Its supreme appellate court therefore remains the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Indeed, of the signatories to the Agreement,[2] as of December, 2010, only Barbados has replaced appeals to Her Majesty in Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice.
In addition to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Antigua and Barbuda has a Magistrates' Court, which deals with lesser civil and criminal cases.[3]
[edit] Political pressure groups and leaders
Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL]
[edit] International organization participation
ACP, C[disambiguation needed 
], Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO
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