Parliament of Saint Lucia

Last updated

Parliament of Saint Lucia
Coat of arms of Saint Lucia.svg
Type
Type
Houses Senate
House of Assembly
Leadership
Charles III
since 8 September 2022
Errol Charles (acting)
since 11 November 2021
Alvina Reynolds, SLP
since 24 November 2022
Claudius Francis, SLP
since 17 August 2021
Philip J. Pierre, SLP
since 28 July 2021
Allen Chastanet, UWP
since 28 July 2021
Structure
Seats29 (17 MPs, 11 Senators, 1 Speaker)
Saint Lucia Senate.svg
Senate political groups
His Majesty's Government
  SLP (6)

HM Loyal Opposition

  UWP (3)

Others

  Independent (2)
St Lucia House of Assembly (2021).svg
Assembly political groups
His Majesty's Government (15)
  SLP (13)
  Independent (2)

HM Loyal Opposition

  UWP (2)
Elections
Last Assembly election
26 July 2021
Next Assembly election
2026 or earlier
Meeting place
Parliament of Saint Lucia.jpg
Website
parliament.govt.lc

The Parliament of Saint Lucia is the bicameral legislative branch of the government of Saint Lucia. It consists of the King, who is represented by the governor general), and the 2 parts of the legislature, the Senate and the House of Assembly.

Contents

The House of Assembly, the lower chamber, has 17 elected members who each represent a constituency with terms lasting no more than 5 years. The Senate, the upper chamber, has 11 members who are appointed by the governor general based on their own judgement, as well based on the advice of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.

Composition

Parliament consists of three different elements:

Monarch

The sovereign's role in parliament is ceremonial, with neither the sovereign nor their viceroy (the governor general), participating in the legislative process. However, Royal Assent is still necessary for a bill to become law.

Senate

The Senate is the upper house of parliament, consisting of 11 members appointed by the governor general. Six members are appointed based on the advice of the prime minister, whilst three members are appointed based on the advice of the leader of the opposition. The other two members are appointed by the governor general based on his or her own judgement. To be appointed as a senator, one must be at least 21 years old.

House of Assembly

The House of Assembly is the lower house of parliament, with each member being elected via a plurality of voters in each of the country's 17 constituencies. Members of the House must be at least 21 years old. A parliamentary term lasts no more than 5 years, but Parliament may be dissolved at any time.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Antigua and Barbuda</span>

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 politics of Grenada takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, whereby the prime minister is the head of government. Grenada is an independent Commonwealth realm. It is governed under a multi-party parliamentary system whose political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom; it has a prime minister and a cabinet, and a bicameral Parliament with an elected House of Representatives and an appointed Senate. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, motion, and association. Grenada 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Saint Lucia</span> Politics in the country of Saint Lucia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westminster system</span> Parliamentary system of government

The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary government that incorporates a series of procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of the system include an executive branch made up of members of the legislature, and that is responsible to the legislature; the presence of parliamentary opposition parties; and a ceremonial head of state who is separate from the head of government. The term derives from the Palace of Westminster, which has been the seat of the Westminster Parliament in England and later the United Kingdom since the 13th century. The Westminster system is often contrasted with the presidential system that originated in the United States, or with the semi-presidential system, based on the government of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senate</span> Upper house of a bicameral legislature

A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate, so-called as an assembly of the senior and therefore considered wiser and more experienced members of the society or ruling class. However the Roman Senate was not the ancestor or predecessor of modern parliamentarism in any sense, because the Roman senate was not a de jure legislative body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of Canada</span> Canadian federal legislature

The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the House of Commons is dominant, with the Senate rarely opposing its will. The Senate reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint and may initiate certain bills. The monarch or his representative, normally the governor general, provides royal assent to make bills into law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Member of parliament</span> Representative of the voters to a parliament

A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often have a different title. The terms congressman/congresswoman or deputy are equivalent terms used in other jurisdictions. The term parliamentarian is also sometimes used for members of parliament, but this may also be used to refer to unelected government officials with specific roles in a parliament and other expert advisers on parliamentary procedure such as the Senate parliamentarian in the United States. The term is also used to the characteristic of performing the duties of a member of a legislature, for example: "The two party leaders often disagreed on issues, but both were excellent parliamentarians and cooperated to get many good things done."

Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single group. As of 2022, roughly 40% of world's national legislatures are bicameral, while unicameralism represents 60% nationally and much more at the subnational level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand Parliament</span> Supreme unicameral legislature of New Zealand

The New Zealand Parliament is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Sovereign (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by his governor-general. Before 1951, there was an upper chamber, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The New Zealand Parliament was established in 1854 and is one of the oldest continuously functioning legislatures in the world. It has met in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, since 1865.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Assembly of Quebec</span> Provincial legislative body in Canada

The National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs. The King in Right of Quebec, represented by the lieutenant governor of Quebec, and the National Assembly compose the Legislature of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other Westminster-style parliamentary systems. The assembly has 125 members elected first past the post from single-member districts.

{{Infobox official post | post = Member of the Legislative Assembly | body = [[State legislative assemblies of

A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. Still, in a few instances, it refers to a national legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Assembly (Belize)</span>

The National Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the nation of Belize. It is divided into the House of Representatives, with 31 members, elected by universal suffrage, and the Senate, with 13 members, appointed by the Governor-General in consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The presiding officer of the House is the Speaker, while the Senate is presided over by the President.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senate of Barbados</span> Upper house of the Parliament of Barbados

The Senate of Barbados is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. The Senate is accorded legitimacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. It is the smaller of the two chambers. The Senate was established in 1964 to replace a prior body known as the Legislative Council. Besides creating and reviewing Barbadian legislation, the Senate generally reviews approved legislation originating from the House of Assembly. One main constraint on the Senate is that it cannot author monetary or budget-related bills. Most of the non-political appointees to the Senate have been selected by the Governor-General from civil society organisations, labour collectives and public associations in Barbados.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senate of Zimbabwe</span> Upper house of the Parliament of Zimbabwe

The Senate of Zimbabwe is the upper of the two chambers in Zimbabwe's Parliament. It existed from independence in 1980 until 1989, and was re-introduced in November 2005. The other chamber of Parliament is the National Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of the Bahamas</span> Bicameral legislature of The Bahamas

The Parliament of The Bahamas is the bicameral national parliament of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. The parliament is formally made up of the sovereign, an appointed Senate, and an elected House of Assembly. It currently sits at the Bahamian Parliament Building in Nassau, the national capital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of Jamaica</span> Legislative branch of the jamaican government

The Parliament of Jamaica is the legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. It consists of three elements: The Crown, the appointed Senate and the directly elected House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament of Grenada</span> Legislative body of Grenada

The Parliament of Grenada is composed of the monarch and two chambers: Senate and the House of Representatives. It operates from the New Parliament Building in St. George's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monarchy of Saint Lucia</span> Constitutional monarchy as a system of government in Saint Lucia

The monarchy of Saint Lucia is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Saint Lucia. The current monarch and head of state, since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Saint Lucian Crown. Although the person of the sovereign is equally shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled King of Saint Lucia and, in this capacity, he and other members of the Royal Family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of the Saint Lucian state. However, the King is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opening of the Canadian parliament</span>

The opening of the Canadian parliament is the commencement of a session of the Parliament of Canada following a general election. It involves summons from the governor general on behalf of the monarch and a ceremony based on the same in the United Kingdom, though less elaborate and now evolved to include uniquely Canadian elements.

References