Politics of Antigua and Barbuda

Last updated

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 (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).

Contents

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 Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP), for a long time was dominated by the Bird family, particularly Prime Ministers Vere and Lester Bird. The opposition claimed to be disadvantaged by the ABLP's longstanding monopoly on patronage and its control of the media, especially in the 1999 general election. The opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) won the 2004 election, and its leader Winston Baldwin Spencer was prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 2004 to 2014. [1]

The elections to the House of Representatives were held on 12 June 2014. The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party government was elected with fourteen seats. The United Progressive Party had three seats in the House of Representatives. [2] ABLP won 15 of the 17 seats in the 2018 snap election under the leadership of incumbent Prime Minister Gaston Browne. [3]

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.

Executive branch

Executive branch leadership

As head of state, King Charles III is represented in Antigua and Barbuda by a governor-general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. [4]

Main office-holders
King Charles III (July 2023).jpg
The King of Antigua and Barbuda:
Charles III
since
8 September 2022
Governor General Of Antigua And Barbuda (37250652361) (cropped) (cropped).jpg
The Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda:
Sir Rodney Williams
since
14 August 2014
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting - 2018 (40666408505) (cropped).jpg
The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda:
Gaston Browne
since
13 June 2014

Legislative branch

The parliament building in St. John's. Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda.JPG
The parliament building in St. John's.

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, and 2 ex officio members (president and 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.

Political parties and elections

Administrative divisions

Map of Antigua's six parishes Antigua parishes english.png
Map of Antigua's six parishes

The country is divided into six parishes, Saint George, John, Mary, Paul, Peter, and Phillip which are all on the island of Antigua. Additionally, the islands of Barbuda and Redonda are considered dependencies.

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 Nicola Byer, Ann-Marie Smith, Jan Drysdale, Rene Williams, and Tunde Bakre as of September 2024. [5]

Antigua is also a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice, although it has not yet acceded to Part III of the 2001 Agreement Establishing a Caribbean Court of Justice. [6] Its supreme appellate court therefore remains the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Indeed, of the signatories to the Agreement, [6] 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. [7]

Movements

Political pressure groups and leaders

International organisation participation

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antigua and Barbuda</span> Country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies

Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign island country in the Caribbean. It lies at the conjuncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles.

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">History of Antigua and Barbuda</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the Bahamas</span>

The Bahamas is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy headed by King Charles III in his role as King of the Bahamas. The politics of The Bahamas takes place within a framework of parliamentary democracy, with a Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The Bahamas is an Independent Country and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. As a former British colony, its political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom. King Charles III is the head of state, but executive power is exercised by the cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and jurisprudence is based on English common law. The multi-party system is dominated by the Progressive Liberal Party and the Free National Movement. The constitution protects freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lester Bird</span> Antiguan politician (1938–2021)

Sir Lester Bryant Bird was an Antiguan politician and athlete who served as the second prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 1994 to 2004. He was chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) from 1971 to 1983, then became prime minister when his father, Sir Vere Bird, the previous prime minister, resigned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party</span> Antiguan political party

The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) is a political party in Antigua and Barbuda. The current leader of the party is Gaston Browne, who serves as the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. The party had previously been led by Lester Bird, who was chairman of the party since 1971, and was Prime Minister and political leader in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baldwin Spencer (politician)</span> Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda

Winston Baldwin Spencer is an Antiguan politician who was the third prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 2004 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Antigua and Barbuda</span>

Elections in Antigua and Barbuda take place in the framework of a parliamentary democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Antigua and Barbuda</span> Twin island country in the Caribbean

The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Antigua and Barbuda:

Asot Michael is an Antiguan politician and a Member of the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda, elected from Saint Peter Constituency. He was also the Minister of Tourism, Economic Development, Investment and Energy under Prime Minister Gaston Browne. He was formerly a member of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party.

Sir Steadroy "Cutie" Olivero Benjamin, KGCN, is an Antiguan lawyer and politician, who is the current minister of Justice and Attorney General of Antigua and Barbuda. He previously served as Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Antiguan general election</span>

General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 12 June 2014. The result was a victory for the opposition Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party led by Gaston Browne, which won 14 of the 17 seats. Following the election, Browne became the country's youngest Prime Minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaston Browne</span> Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda since 2014

Gaston Alfonso Browne is an Antiguan politician serving as the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda and leader of the Labour Party since 2014. Before entering politics, he was a banker and businessman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1958 West Indies federal elections</span>

Federal elections were held in the West Indies Federation for the first and only time on 25 March 1958. The result was a victory for the West Indies Federal Labour Party, which won 25 of the 45 seats in the House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Fernandez</span> Antiguan politician

Charles “Max” Fernandez is a Labour Party politician from Antigua and Barbuda who was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade from June 2014 to 2018. He currently serves as Minister of Tourism, Investment and Economic Development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Antiguan general election</span> Election in Antigua and Barbuda

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Chet Greene</span>

E. Paul Chet Greene is a Member of the Antigua and Barbuda House of Representatives, and a Cabinet Minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevor Walker</span> Antigua and Barbuda politician

Trevor Myke Walker is a Barbudan politician, current member of parliament for Barbuda, and former Cabinet Minister under the Baldwin Spencer administration. He is a member of the Barbuda People's Movement, a party that seeks the independence of Barbuda from Antigua and Barbuda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Antiguan general election</span>

General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 18 January 2023 to elect members of the House of Representatives. The Labour Party (ABLP) has held an absolute majority of 15 seats in the House of Representatives after the 2018 general election, with Gaston Browne remaining as prime minister. Browne initiated a constitutional referendum after the 2018 election, which was rejected by voters, and following the death of Elizabeth II in 2022, he announced his intention to organise a referendum for the transition of Antigua and Barbuda to a republican system. Besides ABLP, the United Progressive Party (UPP), Democratic National Alliance, Barbuda People's Movement (BPM), and three independent politicians filed candidacies for the 2023 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gail Christian</span> Antiguan and Barbudan politician

Gail Christian is an Antiguan and Barbudan politician and senator. She is a senator of the Upper House of Parliament in Antigua and Barbuda. She was appointed senator by Prime Minister Gaston Browne.

References

  1. ↑ "Caribbean Elections Biography | Winston Baldwin Spencer". www.caribbeanelections.com.
  2. ↑ "IFES Election Guide | Elections: Antigua and Barbuda House of Representatives 2014". www.electionguide.org.
  3. ↑ "Speculation about early election in Antigua". Barbados Today. 12 June 2021.
  4. ↑ "Antigua and Barbuda Country Profile". www.caribbeanelections.com.
  5. ↑ "Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court". www.eccourts.org. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  6. 1 2 Agreement Establishing a Caribbean Court of Justice Archived 14 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine , available here.
  7. ↑ Antiguan and Barbudan criminal court system diagram [usurped]

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.