At stake in this election:

• 15 seats in the House of Assembly

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES
• Assembly: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has a unicameral House of Assembly with 21 seats.

* Represented by Governor General Sir Fredrick Nathaniel BALLANTYNE

Description of electoral system:

• The Queen is hereditary.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the governor-general.
• In the House of Assembly, 15 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 6 members are appointed by the governor-general to serve 5-year terms.***

*** For the six appointed senators, four are chosen to represent the government and two to represent the opposition.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Unity Labor Party (ULP)
  • Leader: Ralph GONSALVES
  • Seats won in last election: 8
• Party: New Democratic Party (NDP)
  • Leader: Arnhim EUSTACE
  • Seats won in last election: 7
• Party: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Green Party
  • Leader: Ivan O'NEAL
  • Seats won in last election: 0

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 109,316 (2010)
• Registered Voters: 101,067 (December 2010)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 54,115 (2010)

·         Is Saint Vincent and the Grenadines a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (4 August 1981)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 4 (following the 2010 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 97 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Saint Vincent and the Grenadines a signatory to CRPD: No

·         Has Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ratified CRPD: Yes, accession (29 October 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 16,397 (est.)