The 2021 Barbadian presidential election was held on 20 October 2021 to choose the first

President of Barbados The president of Barbados is the head of state of Barbados and the commander-in-chief of the Barbados Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a parliamentary republic on 30 November 2021. Before, the head of state was ...

, an office established as part of Barbados becoming a republic.

Sandra Mason Dame Sandra Prunella Mason (born 17 January 1949) is a Barbadian politician, lawyer, and diplomat who is serving as the first president of Barbados since 2021. She was previously the eighth and final governor-general of Barbados from 2018 to 20 ...

, the incumbent

Governor-General of Barbados The governor-general of Barbados was the representative of the Barbadian monarch from independence in 1966 until the establishment of a republic in 2021. Under the government's Table of Precedence for Barbados, the governor-general of Barbados ...

, was elected President, and she replaced

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

when she was sworn in on 30 November 2021.

Electoral system

The president is elected indirectly by the Parliament of Barbados.Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2021 - Parliament of Barbados
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prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

and the

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

jointly nominate a consensus candidate 90 days before the incumbent's term is due to expire, who is then elected in a

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without a vote unless any MP lodges their objection. If an objection is lodged, the joint sitting is suspended and the two Houses of Parliament, the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

, meet separately and each vote on accepting or rejecting the nominee. A two-thirds majority of valid votes in each house separately is then required to elect a candidate on all rounds of balloting. If no consensus candidate is nominated by the 60th day before the end of the incumbent's term, the election is opened to other candidates. To gain ballot access in such an open election, a candidate must be nominated either by the prime minister, the leader of the Opposition, or at least ten members of the House of Assembly. The requirement for a two-thirds majority of valid votes in each house separately also applies in an open election; this means that if only one candidate has been nominated, the voting system is the same as when a consensus candidate has been objected to.

Candidate

, the incumbent

, was the only candidate for the office; she was nominated jointly by the Prime Minister,

Mia Mottley Mia Amor Mottley, (born 1 October 1965) is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold ...

, and the Leader of the Opposition, Bishop Joseph Atherley. Mason would have been deemed elected without a vote if there had been no objections to her candidacy. However, Senator Caswell Franklyn formally objected, saying that the electors had not been notified of the election rules in advance, and claiming that the rules were made up without constitutional basis and that the ballot didn't allow a place to vote 'no'. Due to this objection, the joint sitting was suspended and each chamber of parliament proceeded to hold a separate vote on Mason's nomination. The House of Assembly's session was attended by 28 out of 30 members with William Duguid and George Payne being absent, while the Senate's session was attended by 20 out of 21 members with Lucille Moe being absent. In both Assembly and Senate, the respective presidents - Arthur Holder and Reginald Farley - abstained from voting. Prime Minister Mottley said that the new president would promote "unity of purpose" for Barbados. Mason was sworn in on 30 November, which was the 55th anniversary of Barbadian independence.

References

{{reflist

2021 in Barbados Elections in Barbados Republicanism in Barbados October 2021 events in North America Single-candidate elections Electoral colleges

Electoral system

See also

Candidate

References