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Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign island country in the West Indies in the Americas, lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major islands, Antigua and Barbuda separated by around 40 km (25 mi), and smaller islands. The permanent population number is estimated to be in the region of 97,120 with 97% residing on Antigua. The capital and largest port and city is St. John's on Antigua, with Codrington being the largest town on Barbuda. Lying near each other, Antigua and Barbuda are in the middle of the Leeward Islands, part of the Lesser Antilles, roughly at 17°N of the equator.
The politics of Antigua and Barbuda takes place in a framework of a unitary 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 and the House of Representatives.
The history of Antigua and Barbuda covers the period from the arrival of the Archaic peoples thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization, the lands encompassing present-day Antigua and Barbuda were inhabited by three successive Amerindian societies. The island was claimed by England, who settled the islands in 1632. Under English/British control, the islands witnessed an influx of both Britons and African slaves migrate to the island. In 1981, the islands were granted independence as the modern state of Antigua and Barbuda.
Sir Vere Cornwall Bird, KNH was the first Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. His son, Lester Bryant Bird, succeeded him as Prime Minister. In 1994 he was declared a national hero.
The United Progressive Party is a political party in Antigua and Barbuda. Previously led by Baldwin Spencer, it was the governing party from 2004 to 2014. It has been in opposition since the 2014 election and is now led by Harold Lovell with leadership in parliament by Jamale L. Pringle.
Winston Baldwin Spencer is an Antiguan politician who was the third Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 2004 to 2014.
Elections in Antigua and Barbuda take place in the framework of a parliamentary democracy.
The Barbuda People's Movement is a centre-left Barbudan nationalist political party in Antigua and Barbuda.
The Progressive Labour Movement was a major centre-left political party in Antigua and Barbuda and, until the 2000s, was the only political party to have defeated the Antigua Labour Party in an election.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 17 April 1984, the first after the country had become an independent Commonwealth realm in 1981.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 20 December 1951. The election was the first in Antigua and Barbuda to be held under universal suffrage. Vere Bird formed the Antigua Labour Party in 1951 and led the party to victory, winning all 8 seats on the legislative council. Voter turnout was 70.3%.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 1 November 1956. The Antigua Labour Party retained all 8 seats and the party's leader Vere Bird became Minister of Trade and Production after a ministerial system of government was established. Voter turnout was 57.0%.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 11 February 1971. They were won by the Progressive Labour Movement. PLM leader George Walter was elected Premier of Antigua, defeating the incumbent Premier Vere Bird of the Antigua Labour Party. The PLM was founded in 1967 after a split in the leadership of the Antigua Trades and Labour Union; this was its first election, as well as its first and only electoral victory.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 18 February 1976. Whilst the Progressive Labour Movement received the most votes, the opposition Antigua Labour Party won more than double the number of seats. ALP leader Vere Bird was elected Premier of Antigua. Bird had previously served as head of government of Antigua and Barbuda between 1960 and 1971. He defeated the incumbent Premier George Walter of the Progressive Labour Movement.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 24 April 1980. They were won by the governing Antigua Labour Party. ALP leader Vere Bird was re-elected as Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. Voter turnout was 77.1%.
Sir Robert Hall (1909–1994) was a politician of Antigua and Barbuda. Hall was an opponent of the dominant Antigua Labour Party throughout his career. He was politically active mainly during Antigua and Barbuda's time as a West Indies Associated State.
The Barbuda Democratic Movement was a political party in Antigua and Barbuda. It contested the general elections in 1960 and 1989, but on both occasions received fewer than 160 votes and failed to win a seat.
The Antigua Democratic Labour Party was a political party in Antigua and Barbuda. In the 1960 general elections it received only 66 votes (2.6%) and failed to win a seat. It was part of the Antigua and Barbuda Democratic Movement for the 1965 elections, in which it again failed to win a seat.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 21 March 2018 to elect members to House of Representatives of the 15th Antigua and Barbuda Parliament. Each of the 17 constituencies elected one Member of Parliament (MP).
References
- 1 2 3 4 Ameringer, Charles D. (1992). Political Parties of the Americas, 1980s to 1990s: Canada, Latin America, and the West Indies. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-313-27418-3.
- 1 2 Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, pp67-70 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
