GOVERNMENT
St. Lucia
is a parliamentary democracy modeled on the Westminster system.
The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor
General, appointed by the Queen as her representative. The Governor
General exercises basically ceremonial functions, but residual
powers, under the constitution, can be used at the governor general's
discretion. The actual power in St. Lucia lies with the prime
minister and the cabinet, usually representing the majority party
in parliament.
The bicameral
parliament consists of a 17-member House of Assembly whose members
are elected by universal adult suffrage for 5-year terms and an
11-member senate 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.
St. Lucia has an independent judiciary composed of district courts and a high court. Cases may be appealed to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeals and, ultimately, to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The island is divided into 10 administrative divisions, including the capital, Castries. 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 coast guard and a paramilitary Special Services Unit within its police force.
The United Workers Party (UWP) was once the dominant force in the politics of St. Lucia. Until 1997, the UWP governed the country for all but three years since independence. John Compton was premier of St. Lucia from 1964 until independence in February 1979 and remained prime minister until elections later that year.
The St.
Lucia Labor Party (SLP) won the first post-independence elections
in July 1979, taking 12 of 17 seats in parliament. A period of
turbulence ensued, in which squabbling within the party 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 in April 16, 1987, but with only
nine of 17 seats. Seeking to increase his slim margin, Prime Minister
Compton suspended parliament and called new elections on April
30. This unprecedented snap election, however, gave Compton 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. In this election, the government increased its
majority in parliament to 11 seats.
In 1996,
Compton announced his resignation as prime minister in favor of
his chosen successor Dr. Vaughan Lewis, former director-general
of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Dr. Lewis
became prime minister and minister of finance, planning and development
on April 2, 1996. The SLP also had a change of leadership with
former CARICOM official Dr. Kenny Anthony succeeding businessman
Julian Hunte.
In elections
held May 23, 1997, the St. Lucia Labor 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
May 24, 1997.
In elections of December 3, 2001, the SLP won 14 of the 17 available seats. The leader of the UWP, Dr. Morella Joseph, failed to win a seat. Marcus Nicholas served as leader of the parliamentary opposition. Former Prime Minister Sir John Compton came out of retirement to become leader of the opposition UWP in 2005.
The United Workers Party won an upset victory in elections held December 11, 2006, taking 11 seats against 6 won by the St. Lucia Labour Party. Sir John Compton once again returned to the position of Prime Minister, as well as Minister of Finance.
In May 2007, Prime Minister Compton became ill and appointed Minister for Health Stephenson King as Acting Prime Minister. King served in this capacity until Compton passed away on September 7, 2007. Two days later, King was sworn in as Prime Minister.
Principal
Government Officials
Head of State--Queen Elizabeth II
Governor General--Pearlette Louisy
Prime Minister and Minister for Finance (including International Financial Services), External Affairs, Home Affairs, and National Security--Stephenson King
Ambassador to the UN--Chargé Olaf Fontenelle
Ambassador to the United States and the OAS--Sonia Merlyn Johnny
St. Lucia
maintains an embassy at 3216 New Mexico Ave., NW, Washington,
DC 20016 (tel. 202-364-6792).
Type: Westminster-style parliamentary democracy.
Independence: February 22, 1979.
Constitution: 1979.
Branches: Executive--governor general (representing Queen Elizabeth II, head of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--bicameral parliament. Judicial--district courts, Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (High Court and Court of Appeals), final appeal to Privy Council in London.
Administrative subdivisions: 11 parishes.
Political parties: United Workers Party (incumbent); St. Lucia Labour Party.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.
