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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.
Politics in St. Lucia was once dominated by the United Workers' Party (UWP), which, until 1997 had governed the country for all but three years since independence. John Compton was premier of St. Lucia from 1964 until independence in February 1979.
The Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) won the first post-independence elections in July 1979, taking 12 of 17 seats in parliament. A period squabbling within the party ensued, which led to several changes of prime minister. Pressure from the private sector and the unions forced the government to resign in 1982. New elections were then called and were won resoundingly by Compton's UWP, which took 14 of 17 seats.
The UWP was elected for a second time on 16 April 1987, but with only nine of 17 seats. Seeking to increase his slim margin, Prime Minister Compton suspended parliament and called new elections on 30 April. This unprecedented snap election, however, gave the same results as before—the UWP retained nine seats and the SLP eight. In April 1992, Prime Minister Compton's government again defeated the SLP, but this time increased its majority in parliament to 11 of 17 seats.
In 1996, Compton announced his resignation as prime minister in favor of his chosen successor Dr. Vaughan Lewis, former director-general of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Dr. Lewis became prime minister and minister of finance, planning and development on 2 April 1996. The SLP also had a change of leadership with former CARICOM official Dr. Kenny Anthony succeeding businessman Julian Hunte.
In elections held 23 May 1997, the St. Lucia Labour Party won all but one of the 17 seats in Parliament, and Dr. Kenny Anthony became Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Planning and Development on 24 May 1997.
In elections of 3 December 2001 the St. Lucia Labour Party won 14 of the 17 available seats. The leader of the UWP, Dr. Morella Joseph failed to win a seat. Arsene James was appointed the Leader of the Opposition.
In the general elections held on 11 December 2006 the UWP, once again led by Sir John Compton, defeated the SLP, winning 11 of the 17 seats. The next elections in St Lucia are constitutionally due in December 2011. The governing United Workers Party, and the opposition St Lucia Labour Party, along with the newly formed Lucian People's Movement, are expected to contest the next elections.
In June 2016, the United Workers Party (UWP), led by Allen Michael Chastanet, won 11 of the 17 seats in the general election, ousting the St Lucia Labour Party (SLP) of the incumbent Prime Minister Kenny Anthony. [1]
On 29 July 2021, Philip Joseph Pierre was sworn in as the 12th Prime Minister of St Lucia since independence in 1979. St Lucia Labour Party (SLP), led by Pierre, reached a clear victory in general election. The previous SLP administration, led by Kenny Anthony, was during the period 2011-16. The United Workers Party (UWP) governed during the period 2016-21. [2]
As head of state, King Charles III is represented by a governor general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. Following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister and other ministers is appointed by the governor general.
The Legislature has two chambers. The House of Assembly has 17 members, elected by universal adult suffrage for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies. The Senate has 11 members appointed by the governor general. The parliament may be dissolved by the governor general at any point during its five-year term, either at the request of the prime minister—in order to take the nation into early elections—or at the governor general's own discretion, if the house passes a vote of no-confidence in the government.
St. Lucia has an independent judiciary composed of district courts and a high court. Cases may be appealed to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and, ultimately, to the Caribbean Court of Justice in Port of Spain. The island is divided into 10 administrative divisions, including the capital, Castries. Popularly elected local governments in most towns and villages perform such tasks as regulation of sanitation and markets and maintenance of cemeteries and secondary roads. St. Lucia has no army but maintains a paramilitary Special Service Unit within its police force and a coast guard.
Saint Lucia's electoral boundaries are based, generally, on the 10 districts of Saint Lucia. There are 17 constituencies in Saint Lucia. [3]
District | Constituencies |
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Gros Islet | Gros Islet |
Castries | Babonneau, Castries East, Castries South, Castries South East, Castries North, Castries Central |
Anse la Raye and Canaries | Anse la Raye and Canaries |
Soufrière | Soufrière |
Laborie | Laborie |
Vieux Fort | Vieux Fort North, Vieux Fort South |
Micoud | Micoud North, Micoud South |
Dennery | Dennery South, Dennery North |
Choiseul | Choiseul |
Kenny Davis Anthony is a Saint Lucian politician who was Prime Minister of Saint Lucia from 1997 to 2006 and again from 2011 to 2016. As leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party, he was Leader of the Opposition from 2006 to 2011 and returned to office as Prime Minister on 30 November 2011 following the 2011 election. He left office after the SLP's defeat in the 2016 election and announced his resignation as party leader.
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 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.
Vaughan Allen Lewis, KCSL CBE, is a Saint Lucian politician and a former member of the United Workers' Party (UWP). He served for a brief period as the fifth Prime Minister of Saint Lucia following the resignation of John Compton. Lewis, a former director of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, assumed the office of Prime Minister on 2 April 1996. He also served as Minister of Finance, Planning and Development, and Minister of External Affairs. In elections that followed on 23 May 1997, Lewis and the UWP suffered a huge setback, losing all but one of their seats in Parliament, forcing him to resign in favor of the leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party, Dr Kenny Anthony.
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.
Richard Frederick is a Saint Lucian lawyer and politician. He is the Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with Responsibility for Housing and Local Government. Fredrick made his debut in the 2021 Saint Lucian General Election, earning his seat for the Castries Central Constituency as an Independent candidate in the House of Assembly. He previously served in parliament from 2006 to 2016, and he was Minister for Physical Planning, Housing, Urban Renewal and Local Government.
Philip Joseph Pierre is a Saint Lucian politician currently serving as the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia since 28 July 2021. Pierre serves as the Minister for Finance, Economic Development and the Youth Economy. He is the Leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party since 18 June 2016. He has represented the Castries East constituency in the House of Assembly since 1997.
Marcus Neill Nicholas is a Saint Lucian politician who represented the Dennery North constituency for the United Workers Party (UWP) in the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia. He was also the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly.
General elections were held in Saint Lucia on 11 December 2006. The elections were fought between the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) and the United Workers Party (UWP), which between them dominated politics in Saint Lucia. The results saw the governing Saint Lucia Labour Party lose the election to the United Workers Party led by John Compton, which gained eight seats to hold an eleven to six majority.
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.
Peter Lenard "Spider" Montoute is a Saint Lucian politician and former Minister and parliamentary representative for Gros Islet for the United Workers Party (UWP). Montoute lost his seat in the 2021 Saint Lucian general election to Kenson Casimir; this was a landslide victory for the Saint Lucia Labour Party.
Ezechiel Joseph is a Saint Lucian politician and former representative for the constituency of Babonneau and senator, for the United Workers Party in the House of Assembly. Joseph served as the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Physical Planning, Natural Resources and Co-operatives in his 2016 - 2021 tenure. Joseph lost his seat in the 2021 Saint Lucian General Election dubbed a landslide victory for the Saint Lucia Labour Party.
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.
General elections were held in Saint Lucia on 28 November 2011. The result was a victory for the opposition Saint Lucia Labour Party, which won eleven of the seventeen seats. On 30 November 2011 Labour Party leader Kenny Anthony was sworn in as Prime Minister.
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.
General elections were held in Saint Lucia on 26 July 2021, having been constitutionally required by 12 October 2021. Voters elected all 17 members of the House of Assembly. The result was a victory for the opposition Saint Lucia Labour Party, which won 13 of the 17 seats in the House, while the ruling United Workers Party lost nine of its eleven seats, its worst result since 1997. It was the fourth consecutive election in which the incumbent government was defeated.
Shawn Edward is a Saint Lucian politician and representative in the House of Assembly for the Constituency of Dennery North for the Saint Lucia Labour Party. Edward also serves as Minister for Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training. Edward won his seat once again at the 2021 Saint Lucian General Election. He is also the 2nd Deputy Political Leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party. Edward has not lost his seat since his entry in the 2011 Saint Lucian General Election.