Elections In Antigua And Barbuda
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Elections in
Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...
take place in the framework of a
parliamentary democracy A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
.


Electoral system

The country's electoral law was passed on 31 October 1975 and was last amended in 2002. Elections are overseen by the Office of the Supervisor of Elections and an Electoral Commission, which was established in 2002. The latter consists of five members appointed by the
Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
; three (including the chair) on the advice of the Prime Minister and two on the advice of the leader of the opposition.


House of Representatives

The
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
has 17 elected members and two unelected members, the Attorney General and the Speaker.General information
Inter-Parliamentary Union
Elections for the House are held every five years, although early elections can take place if Parliament is dissolved by the
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 ...
. By-elections must take place within 120 days of a member vacating their seat. Members are elected via a plurality in
single-member constituencies A single-member district is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a Multiwinner voting, multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. Single-member districts are also sometimes call ...
.Electoral system
Inter-Parliamentary Union
Voters must be aged 18 or over, be citizens of the country or citizens of a
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
country who has lived in the country for at least three years prior to a qualifying date, and have been resident in the constituency for at least a month prior to the qualifying date. Candidates must be at least 21 years old, citizens of the country, and have lived in the country for at least a year prior to the elections. They must also have the ability to speak and (unless blind) be able to read English with "sufficient proficiency". Those with dual citizenship or an undischarged bankruptcy are ineligible, as are those who have been imprisoned for more than a year or have committed electoral offences within the previous ten years, or are insane or under a death sentence.


Senate

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 ...
is unelected and consists of 17 members appointed by the Governor-General; eleven on the advice of the Prime Minister, four on the advice of the leader of the opposition, one on the advice of the Barbuda Council and one at the discretion of the Governor-General.Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p 64


History

Universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...
was introduced in 1951, although less than 20% of the population was registered to vote during the 1950s. The first elections held under this system resulted in a victory for the
Antigua Labour Party The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) is a political party in Antigua and Barbuda. The current leader of the party is Gaston Browne, who serves as the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. The party had previously been led by Lester Bird ...
, which won all eight seats. The ALP dominated Antiguan politics, winning every seat in elections held in
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
,
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...
and
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
. During this period
voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...
remained low, dropping to just 38% for the 1960 elections. Although they were defeated by the
Progressive Labour Movement The Progressive Labour Movement was a major centre-left political party in Antigua and Barbuda and, until the 2000s, was the only political party to have defeated the Antigua Labour Party in an election. History The party was established in 196 ...
in
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...
, the party regained power in
1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
(despite receiving fewer votes than the PLM) and remained the ruling party until 2004 under the leadership of
Vere Bird Sir Vere Cornwall Bird, KNH (9 December 1910 – 28 June 1999) was the first Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. His son, Lester Bryant Bird, succeeded him as Prime Minister. In 1994 he was declared a national hero. He was an officer in ...
and later his son,
Lester Bird Sir Lester Bryant Bird KNH (21 February 1938 – 9 August 2021) was an Antigua and Barbuda politician and athlete who served as the second prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 1994 to 2004. He was chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP ...
. During this period elections were considered to be neither free nor fair. After taking over from his father prior to the 1994 elections, Lester had promised to fight corruption. However, the elections that year remained neither free nor far, with no guarantee of secret balloting, a voter registration open to abuse and the voter roll being inflated by 25% with emigrants or deceased residents. Continued irregularities in the
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
elections were noted by a
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
observer group, which recommended the establishment of an independent Electoral Commission and year-round registration for elections.Nohlen, p 63 The Commission was set up in 2001 and the ALP's second period of dominance ended with defeat by the United Progressive Party in the 2004 elections. The UPP won a second term in office in
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
. However, in the 2014 general election, the Antigua Labour Party won 14 of 17 seats, while the ruling UPP won the other three seats. In the 2018 general election, held on 21 March, the ABLP won 15 seats, the UPP won 1 seat and the Barbuda Peoples Movement the seat for Barbuda.


Latest election


References


External links


Antigua Elections website
Political Database of the Americas {{Antigua and Barbuda topics