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 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 gove ...

. The result was a victory for the opposition

Saint Lucia Labour Party 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. History The party was established in 1949, backed by the Saint Lucia Workers Cooperative ...

, which won 13 of the 17 seats in the House, while the ruling United Workers Party lost nine of its eleven seats. It was the fourth consecutive election in which the incumbent government lost.

Electoral system

The 17 elected members of the

were elected by

first-past-the-post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

in single member constituencies. According to the constitution, elections for a new Parliament session can be held at the latest 5 years and 90 days after the opening of the previous session. The first session after the 2016 election was held on 12 July 2016, leaving the deadline in October 2021. Incumbent

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 i ...

Allen Chastanet Allen Michael Chastanet (born 20 November 1960) is a Saint Lucian businessman and politician who served as Prime Minister of Saint Lucia from 2016 to 2021. He is currently the Opposition Leader of Saint Lucia and the political leader of the ...

favoured a later date, stating in April 2021 his intent to avoid another outbreak of the

COVID-19 pandemic in Saint Lucia The COVID-19 pandemic in Saint Lucia was a part of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was confirmed to have reached Saint Lucia on 13 March 2020. As of 2 September 2022, there are a ...

. On 5 July 2021, he announced that the election would be held on 26 July.

Campaign

Political parties began announcing prospective candidates in December 2020. On Nomination Day, 16 July, the governing United Workers Party (UWP) nominated candidates for all 17 constituencies. The opposition

(SLP) nominated candidates for 15 constituencies, not fielding candidates in two constituencies where former UWP members campaigned as independents. The National Green Party (NGP) nominated candidates for eight constituencies. Although the parties held campaign rallies, they mutually agreed not to allow motorcades after warnings from health authorities. In June 2021 the UWP announced a five-point pledge of top priority items it would deliver if re-elected: the pledge included additional support for needy persons, a reduction in

VAT A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...

, electronic textbooks for students and a health insurance programme covering all citizens. The NGP was founded on 23 May 2021. For the upcoming election, the party announced

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World ...

to be its key issue, along with constitutional reforms that the UWP and SLP had not passed. The NGP also proposed increased spending on social services and tourism infrastructure; these projects would be funded by establishing a legal cannabis industry.

Conduct

The

Caribbean Community The Caribbean Community (CARICOM or CC) is an intergovernmental organization that is a political and economic union of 15 member states (14 nation-states and one dependency) throughout the Caribbean. They have primary objectives to promote econo ...

sent a team of ten election observers for the main election as well as the advance polls on 23 July, and gave a favourable initial assessment. Chaired by Alvin Smith, the five-member team from the Commonwealth also praised the conduct of the elections, but criticised the slow updating of the voter registry. The Organization of American States sent a team of twelve election observers.

Results

The SLP flipped seven seats, winning 13 of the 17 in the House. For the first time since independence, the UWP lost the

Micoud Micoud District is one of 10 districts (formerly called quarters) of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia The seat of this district is the town of Micoud inside this district. According to the 2002 census, the population of the distric ...

North seat. The UWP retained only two seats, those of PM Chastenet and Commerce Minister Bradley Felix, while the two former UWP members running as independents,

Stephenson King Stephenson King (born 13 November 1958) 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 Uni ...

and

Richard Frederick Richard Frederick (born 6 August, 1965) is a Saint Lucian lawyer and politician, and 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 ...

, won their seats.

By constituency

Reactions

Domestic

SLP leader Pierre thanked the people of Saint Lucia for his party's win, promising to focus on healthcare and youth employment. PM Chastanet called Pierre to offer his congratulations. In a Facebook post, Chastanet thanked the UWP supporters and announced that the party will regroup. The NGP Deputy Leader Aaron Alexander congratulated the SLP and affirmed his party's willingness to work with them to improve the country.

International

* Grenada:

Keith Mitchell Keith Claudius Mitchell (born 12 November 1946) is a Grenadian politician who served as Prime Minister of Grenada from 1995 to 2008 and from 2013 to 2022. He is the longest-serving Prime Minister in Grenadian history, holding the office for more ...

and the opposition National Democratic Congress party both issued statements congratulating the SLP. * Dominica:

Roosevelt Skerrit Roosevelt Skerrit (born 8 June 1972) is a Dominican politician who has been Prime Minister of Dominica since 2004; he has also been the Member of Parliament for the Vieille Case constituency since 2000. Regionally, he has served as the chairman ...

, leader of the

Dominica Labour Party The Dominica Labour Party is a centre-left social-democratic political party in Dominica. History Founded in 1955 by Phyllis Shand Allfrey and Emmanuel Christopher Loblack, the Dominica Labour Party is the oldest political party in Dominica. N ...

, congratulated Pierre and SLP in a radio interview: "Anytime there is a difficulty in a country, people feel more comfortable with the Labour Party in office." * Antigua and Barbuda:

Gaston Browne Gaston Alfonso Browne (born 9 February 1967) is the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda. He has been its leader since 2014. Before entering politics, he was a banker and businessman. Early life Browne wa ...

sent a letter of congratulations to Pierre.

Aftermath

SLP leader Philip J. Pierre was sworn in as the new

on 28 July. The new Cabinet was sworn in on 5 August in a ceremony attended by Antiguan PM

. It consisted of 13 ministers, including the two independent MPs, and two parliamentary secretaries.

Cabinet of Ministers

Parliamentary Secretaries

References

{{Saint Lucian elections Saint Lucia General election Elections in Saint Lucia Saint Lucia