The House of Assembly is a unicameral parliament with fifteen elected members and six appointed senators. The governor general appoints senators, four on the advice of the prime minister and two on the advice of the leader of the opposition. The parliamentary term of office is five years, although the prime minister may call elections at any time.
As in other English-speaking Caribbean countries, the judiciary in St. Vincent is rooted in English common law. There are eleven courts in three magisterial districts. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, comprising a high court and a court of appeals, is known in St. Vincent as the St. Vincent and the Grenadines supreme court. The court of last resort is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.
There is no local government in St. Vincent, and all six parishes are administered by the central government.
The People's Political Party (PPP), founded in 1952 by Ebenezer Joshua, was the first major political party in St. Vincent. The PPP had its roots in the labor movement and was in the forefront of national policy prior to independence, winning elections from 1957 through 1966. With the development of a more conservative Black middle class, however, the party began to steadily lose support, until it collapsed after a rout in the 1979 elections. The party dissolved itself in 1984.
Founded in 1955, the Saint Vincent Labour Party (SVLP), under Milton Cato, gained the support of the middle class. With a conservative law-and-order message and a pro-Western foreign policy, the SVLP dominated politics from the mid-1960s until the mid-1980s. Following victories in the 1967 and 1974 elections, the SVLP led the island to independence, winning the first post-independence election in 1979. Expecting an easy victory for the SVLP in 1984, Cato called early elections. The results were surprising: with a record 89% voter turnout, James Fitz-Allen Mitchell's New Democratic Party (NDP) won nine seats in the house of assembly.
Since the 1984 election, politics in St. Vincent have been dominated by the NDP. Bolstered by a resurgent economy in the mid-1980s, Mitchell led his party to an unprecedented sweep of all fifteen House of Assembly seats in the 1989 elections. The opposition emerged from the election weakened and fragmented but was able to win three seats during the February 1994 elections under a "unity" coalition. In 1998, Prime Minister Mitchell and the NDP were returned to power for an unprecedented fourth term but only with a slim margin of eight seats to seven seats for the Unity Labour Party (ULP). The NDP was able to accomplish a return to power while receiving a lesser share of the popular vote, approximately 45% to the ULP's 55%. In March 2001, the ULP, led by Ralph Gonsalves, assumed power after winning twelve of the fifteen seats in Parliament. The party was returned to power under the same leadership in December 2005, holding the same twelve seats in Parliament. The ULP was returned to power in 2010 and also following the election on 9 December 2015 when it won 8 out of the 15 constituencies. Ralph Gonsalves remains Prime Minister.
Executive branch
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.
"Saint Vincent and the Grenadines", U.S. Department of State. Web. 17 Nov. 2010.
"Gonsalves: Outsiders in St Vincent Politics - Stabroek News - Guyana", Guyana News - Stabroek News - Georgetown Guyana News and Information, Sports, Opinion. Web. 17 Nov. 2010.
March 20, 2023
politics, saint, vincent, grenadines, takes, place, framework, parliamentary, democracy, saint, vincent, grenadines, independent, commonwealth, realm, with, charles, king, represented, governor, general, acts, advice, prime, minister, cabinet, prime, minister,. Politics of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines takes place in the framework of a parliamentary democracy Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an independent Commonwealth realm with Charles III as its king 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 of Assembly and the cabinet conducts affairs of state The governor general exercises ceremonial functions but reserve powers under the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines constitution can be used at the governor general s discretion The House of Assembly is a unicameral parliament with fifteen elected members and six appointed senators The governor general appoints senators four on the advice of the prime minister and two on the advice of the leader of the opposition The parliamentary term of office is five years although the prime minister may call elections at any time As in other English speaking Caribbean countries the judiciary in St Vincent is rooted in English common law There are eleven courts in three magisterial districts The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court comprising a high court and a court of appeals is known in St Vincent as the St Vincent and the Grenadines supreme court The court of last resort is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London There is no local government in St Vincent and all six parishes are administered by the central government Contents 1 Political conditions 2 Executive branch 3 Legislative branch 4 Political parties and elections 5 Judicial branch 6 Administrative divisions 7 International organization participationPolitical conditions EditThe People s Political Party PPP founded in 1952 by Ebenezer Joshua was the first major political party in St Vincent The PPP had its roots in the labor movement and was in the forefront of national policy prior to independence winning elections from 1957 through 1966 With the development of a more conservative Black middle class however the party began to steadily lose support until it collapsed after a rout in the 1979 elections The party dissolved itself in 1984 Founded in 1955 the Saint Vincent Labour Party SVLP under Milton Cato gained the support of the middle class With a conservative law and order message and a pro Western foreign policy the SVLP dominated politics from the mid 1960s until the mid 1980s Following victories in the 1967 and 1974 elections the SVLP led the island to independence winning the first post independence election in 1979 Expecting an easy victory for the SVLP in 1984 Cato called early elections The results were surprising with a record 89 voter turnout James Fitz Allen Mitchell s New Democratic Party NDP won nine seats in the house of assembly Since the 1984 election politics in St Vincent have been dominated by the NDP Bolstered by a resurgent economy in the mid 1980s Mitchell led his party to an unprecedented sweep of all fifteen House of Assembly seats in the 1989 elections The opposition emerged from the election weakened and fragmented but was able to win three seats during the February 1994 elections under a unity coalition In 1998 Prime Minister Mitchell and the NDP were returned to power for an unprecedented fourth term but only with a slim margin of eight seats to seven seats for the Unity Labour Party ULP The NDP was able to accomplish a return to power while receiving a lesser share of the popular vote approximately 45 to the ULP s 55 In March 2001 the ULP led by Ralph Gonsalves assumed power after winning twelve of the fifteen seats in Parliament The party was returned to power under the same leadership in December 2005 holding the same twelve seats in Parliament The ULP was returned to power in 2010 and also following the election on 9 December 2015 when it won 8 out of the 15 constituencies Ralph Gonsalves remains Prime Minister Executive branch EditAs head of state King Charles III is represented by a governor general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet Main office holders The King of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Charles IIIsince8 September 2022 The Governor General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Dame Susan Dougansince1 August 2019 The Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalvessince28 March 2001Legislative branch EditThe House of Assembly has 21 members 15 members elected for a five year term in single seat constituencies and 6 appointed senators Political parties and elections EditFor other political parties see List of political parties in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Judicial branch EditEastern Caribbean Supreme Court based in Saint Lucia one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent Administrative divisions EditThe country is divided into six parishes Charlotte Saint George Saint Andrew Saint Patrick Saint David and The Grenadines International organization participation EditACP ALBA C Caricom CDB CELAC ECLAC FAO G 77 IBRD ICAO ICC ICFTU ICRM IDA IFAD IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Intelsat nonsignatory user Interpol IOC ITU OAS OECS OPANAL OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCL WFTU WHO WIPO WTrOReferences Saint Vincent and the Grenadines U S Department of State Web 17 Nov 2010 Gonsalves Outsiders in St Vincent Politics Stabroek News Guyana Guyana News Stabroek News Georgetown Guyana News and Information Sports Opinion Web 17 Nov 2010 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Politics of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines amp oldid 1144115930, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
