 |
|---|
| Administrative divisions (Quarters) |
This article lists political parties in Saint Lucia. Saint Lucia has a two-party system, which means that there are two dominant political parties, with extreme difficulty for anybody to achieve electoral success under the banner of any other party.
| Name | Abbr. | Founded | Ideology | Leader | Senators | Seats in Assembly | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour Party | SLP | 1950 | Social democracy | Philip J. Pierre | 6 / 11 | 13 / 17 | |
| United Workers Party | UWP | 1964 | Christian democracy Conservatism | Allen Chastanet | 3 / 11 | 2 / 17 | |
Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs (respectively), two Amerindian peoples. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 617 km2 with an estimated population of over 180,000 people as of 2018. The nation's capital and largest city is Castries.
This is a demography of the population of Saint Lucia including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Politics of Saint Lucia takes place in the framework of an independent parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy, with King Charles III as its head of state, represented by a Governor General, who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party of the house, and the cabinet conducts affairs of state. The Governor General exercises basically ceremonial functions, but residual powers, under the constitution, can be used at the governor general's discretion. The actual power in St. Lucia lies with the prime minister and the cabinet, usually representing the majority party in parliament.
The governor-general of Saint Lucia is the representative of the Saint Lucian monarch, currently King Charles III, in Saint Lucia. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister of Saint Lucia. The functions of the governor-general include appointing ministers, judges, and ambassadors; giving royal assent to legislation passed by parliament; issuing writs for election.
Sir John George Melvin Compton, was a Saint Lucian politician who became the first Prime Minister upon independence in February 1979. Having led Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, Compton served as Prime Minister three times: briefly in 1979, again from 1982 to 1996, and from 2006 until his death in 2007. He cofounded the conservative United Workers Party (UWP) in 1964; he led the party until 1996, again from 1998 to 2000, and again from 2005 to 2007.
The music of Saint Lucia is home to many vibrant oral and folk traditions and is based on elements derived from the music of Africa, especially rhythmically, and Western Europe, dances like the quadrille, polka and waltz. The banjo and cuatro are iconic Lucian folk instruments, especially a four-stringed banjo called the bwa poye. Celebratory songs called jwé show lyricism, and rhythmic complexity. The most important of the Afro-Lucian Creole folk dances is the kwadril. Music is an integral part of Lucian folk holidays and celebrations, as well as the good-natured rivalry between the La Rose and La Marguerite societies. There is little Western classical music on Saint Lucia, and the country's popular music industry is only nascent. There are few recording opportunities, though live music and radio remain a vital part of Lucian culture. Popular music from abroad, especially Trinidadian styles like calypso and soca, is widespread.
George William Odlum was a Saint Lucian left-wing politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Born in Castries, Odlum studied at Bristol University and Oxford University in the United Kingdom before returning to Saint Lucia as Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Trade. After working for the Commonwealth Secretariat and the West Indies Associated States, he formed the Saint Lucia Forum, a left-wing pressure group. This group merged with the Saint Lucia Labour Party in time for the 1974 elections; although the Party did not win, the progress they made allowed them to take power in 1979, with Odlum as Deputy Prime Minister.
The Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) is a social democratic political party in Saint Lucia. It currently holds 13 of the 17 seats in the House of Assembly.
The United Workers Party is a conservative political party in Saint Lucia currently led by former Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet, who defeated former Prime Minister Stephenson King in a July 28, 2013 leadership election. The party was led previously by Sir John Compton, the party's founder.
Sir Allan Fitzgerald Laurent Louisy was the second prime minister of independent St Lucia, following Sir John Compton in office. He was born in Laborie on 5 September 1916 and served as a judge before being elected to parliament in 1974.
Sir (William) George Mallet GCSL GCMG CBE was a politician who was Governor-General of Saint Lucia and held a number of high offices in the island Saint Lucia, one of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Eastern Caribbean. Sir George served as the Minister for Trade, Industry, Agriculture and Tourism in the first post-independence government of St Lucia beginning in 1979. In later years, Sir George served as Deputy Prime Minister and was responsible for numerous government ministries including Foreign Affairs, Home Affairs and CARICOM Affairs.
Theophilus Ferguson John is a Saint Lucian politician. From 1997 until 2006 he was the parliamentary representative for Choiseul and Saltibus and the Minister for Physical Development, Environment and Housing of Saint Lucia. He is also the vice chairman of the Saint Lucia Labour Party.
Cyprian Lansiquot is a Saint Lucian lawyer and politician. He was a Labour Party member of the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia from 1997 to 2006 and served as a parliamentary secretary.
Keith Raymond Rufus Mondesir is a Saint Lucian politician. He has been a United Workers Party member of the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia and a member of the Saint Lucian cabinet since 2006, serving in the administrations of John Compton and Stephenson King.
Stephenson King is the former Prime Minister of Saint Lucia. He is the Senior Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Ports, Transport, Physical Development, and Urban Renewal. King was the former candidate for the United Workers Party (UWP). He now represents the constituency of Castries North as an Independent candidate as of July 2021, after resigning from the UWP.
Peter Josie is an inactive Saint Lucian politician and trade unionist. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 1982 and again from 1987 to 1997. He served as President of the Seaman and Waterfront Workers Union, the National Farmers Union, the Technical and Allied Workers Union. He was leader of the St Lucia Labour Party and the Organisation for National Enlightenment.
Sir Emmanuel Neville Cenac is the former governor-general of Saint Lucia. He was appointed to that post in January 2018. On 28 July 2021 Cenac is reported to have signalled his intention to resign. As of 31 October, he demitted the viceregal office. He was previously best known as a Saint Lucian politician, serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1987 to 1992.
Allen Michael Chastanet is a Saint Lucian businessman and politician who served as Prime Minister of Saint Lucia from 2016 to 2021. He is currently the Leader of the Opposition of Saint Lucia and the political leader of the United Workers Party as well as the parliamentary representative for Micoud South constituency.
Hunter J. François (CBE) was a Saint Lucian lawyer and politician.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Saint Lucia was a part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was confirmed to have reached Saint Lucia on 13 March 2020. As of 2 September 2022, there are a total of 28,894 confirmed cases, of which 28,369 have recovered and 391 deaths have occurred.
| Current parties | |
|---|---|
| Defunct parties | |
