Politics of

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Ameri ...

takes place in the framework of an independent parliamentary democratic

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

, with

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

as its

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 ...

, represented by a

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 ...

, who acts on the advice of 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 ...

and the cabinet. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party of the house, and the cabinet conducts affairs of state. The Governor General exercises basically ceremonial functions, but residual powers, under the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

, can be used at the governor general's discretion. The actual power in St. Lucia lies with the

and the cabinet, usually representing the majority party in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

History

Politics in St. Lucia was once dominated by the United Workers' Party (UWP), which, until 1997 had governed the country for all but three years since independence.

John Compton Sir John George Melvin Compton, (29 April 1925 – 7 September 2007) was a Saint Lucian politician who became the first Prime Minister upon independence in February 1979. Having led Saint Lucia under British rule from 1964 to 1979, Compton s ...

was premier of St. Lucia from 1964 until independence in February 1979. The

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 Cooperativ ...

(SLP) won the first post-independence elections in July 1979, taking 12 of 17 seats in parliament. A period squabbling within the party ensued, which led to several changes of prime minister. Pressure from the private sector and the unions forced the government to resign in 1982. New elections were then called and were won resoundingly by Compton's UWP, which took 14 of 17 seats. The UWP was elected for a second time on 16 April 1987, but with only nine of 17 seats. Seeking to increase his slim margin, Prime Minister Compton suspended parliament and called new elections on 30 April. This unprecedented snap election, however, gave the same results as before—the UWP retained nine seats and the SLP eight. In April 1992, Prime Minister Compton's government again defeated the SLP, but this time increased its majority in parliament to 11 of 17 seats. In 1996, Compton announced his resignation as prime minister in favor of his chosen successor Dr.

Vaughan Lewis Sir Vaughan Allen Lewis, KCSL CBE (born 17 May 1940), is a Saint Lucian politician and a former member of the United Workers' Party (UWP). He served for a brief period as the fifth Prime Minister of Saint Lucia following the resignation of Joh ...

, former director-general of the

Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS; French: ''Organisation des États de la Caraïbe orientale'', OECO) is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal ri ...

(OECS). Dr. Lewis became prime minister and minister of finance, planning and development on 2 April 1996. The SLP also had a change of leadership with former CARICOM official Dr.

Kenny Anthony Kenny Davis Anthony (born 8 January 1951Government page on Anthony
.) is a

succeeding businessman

Julian Hunte Sir Julian Robert Hunte, SLC, KCMG, OBE, (born 14 March 1940 in Castries) was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saint Lucia from April 2001 to 26 October 2004, when he was succeeded by Petrus Compton. He is the Permanent Representative (o ...

. In elections held 23 May 1997, the St. Lucia Labour Party won all but one of the 17 seats in Parliament, and Dr. Kenny Anthony became Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Planning and Development on 24 May 1997. In elections of 3 December 2001 the St. Lucia Labour Party won 14 of the 17 available seats. The leader of the UWP, Dr.

Morella Joseph Dr. Morella Joseph is a politician in the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia and was reportedly the first woman in its history to become president of a political party. After the unexpected resignation of Vaughan Lewis, Joseph was elected to ...

failed to win a seat. Arsene James is the leader of the Parliamentary Opposition. In the general elections held on 11 December 2006 the UWP, once again led by Sir John Compton, defeated the SLP, winning 11 of the 17 seats. The next elections in St Lucia are constitutionally due in December 2011. The governing United Workers Party, and the opposition St Lucia Labour Party, along with the newly formed Lucian People's Movement, are expected to contest the next elections. On 29 July 2021, Philip Joseph Pierre was sworn in as the 12th Prime Minister of St Lucia since independence in 1979. St Lucia Labour Party (SLP), led by Pierre, reached a clear victory in general election. The previous SLP administration, led by

Kenny Anthony Kenny Davis Anthony (born 8 January 1951Government page on Anthony
.) is a

, was during the period 2011-16. The United Workers Party (UWP) governed during the period 2016-21.

Executive branch

As head of state, King

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person ...

is represented by a governor general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. Following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is appointed by the governor general.

Legislative branch

The

Legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

has two chambers. 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 A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony adm ...

has 17 members, elected by universal adult suffrage for a five-year term in single-seat

constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

. 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 ...

has 11 members appointed by the governor general. The parliament may be dissolved by the governor general at any point during its 5-year term, either at the request of the prime minister—in order to take the nation into early elections—or at the governor general's own discretion, if the house passes a vote of no-confidence in the government.

Political parties and elections

Judicial branch

St. Lucia has an independent judiciary composed of district courts and a high court. Cases may be appealed to the

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Ne ...

and, ultimately, to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The island is divided into 10 administrative divisions, including the capital,

Castries Castries is the capital and largest city of Saint Lucia, an island country in the Caribbean. The urban area has a population of approximately 20,000, while the eponymous district has a population of 70,000, as at May 2013. The city stretches o ...

. Popularly elected local governments in most towns and villages perform such tasks as regulation of sanitation and markets and maintenance of cemeteries and secondary roads. St. Lucia has no army but maintains a paramilitary Special Service Unit within its police force and a coast guard.

Electoral boundaries

Saint Lucia's electoral boundaries are based, generally, on the 10

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

of Saint Lucia. There are 17 constituencies in Saint Lucia.

References

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