Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea, where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean.
Ralph Everard Gonsalves is a Vincentian politician. He is currently the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP).
The New Democratic Party (NDP) is a moderate conservative political party in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The party is led by Godwin Friday, and is currently the official opposition in the House of Assembly.
The Unity Labour Party (ULP) is a democratic socialist political party in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Currently the governing party, it is led by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.
Arnhim Ulric Eustace is a Vincentian retired politician and economist. He served as the third Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and is the former longtime leader of the opposition and former president of the New Democratic Party (NDP) after resigning in 2016.
The House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is the unicameral legislature of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The Vincentian monarch and the House of Assembly constitute the Parliament of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The monarchy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The current Vincentian monarch and head of state, since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Vincentian 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 Vincent and the Grenadines and, in this capacity, he and other members of the royal family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. However, the King is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.
A constitutional referendum was held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 25 November 2009. Voters were asked whether they approved of a new constitution which would have replaced the constitution in force since independence in 1979. The proposal was supported by only 43.13% of voters in the referendum, well short of the required two-thirds threshold. If approved, the proposed constitution would have abolished the monarchy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, at the time headed by Queen Elizabeth II, and would have given more power to the opposition. The referendum was the first of its kind to be held by a member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. The Penal Code makes same-sex sexual acts illegal with a punishment up to 10 years in prison, although the law is not enforced. In addition, it outlaws the practice of "buggery", whether homosexual or heterosexual and irrespective of whether the act was consensual. The country's laws also do not address discrimination or harassment on account of sexual orientation or gender identity, nor recognize same-sex unions in any form, whether it be marriage or partnerships. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for any of the same rights given to opposite-sex married couples. In 2024, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines upheld its constitutional ban on same-sex sexual activity within its High Court.
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 9 December 1974. The result was a victory for the Saint Vincent Labour Party, which won ten of the 13 seats. Voter turnout was 63.2%.
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 5 December 1979. The result was a victory for the Saint Vincent Labour Party (SVLP), which won eleven of the thirteen seats. Voter turnout was 64%, up only slightly from 63% in 1974.
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 15 June 1998. Although the Unity Labour Party (ULP) received a majority of the public vote, the New Democratic Party (NDP) won a majority of seats, the first time the party receiving a majority of the vote had failed to win the elections since 1966. Voter turnout was 67%.
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 9 December 2015. The result was a victory for the Unity Labour Party, which retained its one seat majority. However, the NDP has challenged the results in two constituencies, North Windward, and Central Leeward.
St Clair Leacock is a Vincentian politician. He is an opposition parliament member in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Leacock is also the New Democratic Party Central Kingstown candidate for 2020 Vincentian general election.
General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 5 November 2020. Nomination day was 20 October 2020. The result was a victory for the Unity Labour Party, its fifth in a row; the party won nine of the fifteen seats, gaining one seat. These elections marked the first time since 1998 that the party which received the most votes did not win the most seats and the first time since 1994 that the New Democratic Party won the popular vote.
Alphonso Alpheus Dennie was a Vincentian educator who served as the Minister of Education, Community Development and Youth Affairs from 4 May 1972 to 18 September 1974. Outside of politics, he was the headmaster of schools both in the country as well as in Barbados. He spent the latter part of his career as chairman of the national electricity company and as chairman of the philatelic bureau.
Rochelle Forde is a Saint Vincent and the Grenadines lawyer and politician who has been Speaker of the country's House of Assembly since November 2020.
Girlyn Miguel is a Vincentian educator and politician who served in the Parliament of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from 1998 until 2015. A member of the Unity Labour Party, Miguel also served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2010 to 2015, becoming the first woman to hold the position.
