barbudaful politics

Barbuda is part of a three-island state with Antigua and Redonda. After independence in 1981 Antigua and Barbuda retained Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state; her representative in the state is the Governor General.

Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

Parliament (below) is situated in St Johns, Antigua, and consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate.The Representatives (or MPs) are elected by popular vote from 16 constituencies in Antigua, and one in Barbuda. A general election must be held within five years of the previous one. Senators are appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition. The Prime Minister heads a Cabinet of Ministers who administer the state and all legislation is introduced in the House of Representatives and then passed to the Senate for review and assent – this form of government is modelled on the British parliamentary system.

There are two political parties on Barbuda – the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) and the Barbuda People’s Movement (BPM)

Although Central Government is based in Antigua, Barbuda has its own local laws and collects its own taxes through local government in the form of the Barbuda Council which was established in 1976 by the Barbuda Local Government Act. The Council is an 11-member body consisting of nine directly elected and two ex-officio (Barbuda’s House and Senate representatives in the national Parliament) members who serve four-year terms.

Gaston Browne is the current Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda.

Trevor Walker (below) is the current MP for Barbuda, there is only one representative for Barbuda in a house of seventeen MP’s.