Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Legislative Election, 9 December 2015

At stake in this election:

• 15 seats in the House of Assembly

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 2952); represented by Governor General Sir Frederick Nathaniel BALLANTYNE (since 2 September 2002)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001)
• Assembly: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ahs a unicameral House of Assembly composed of 21 seats with members serving 5-year terms. There are also 2 ex officio representatives, the Attorney General and the Speaker.

Description of electoral system:

• In the House of Assembly, 15 members are directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 6 members are appointed by the governor general.

Last Election:

• Elections for the House of Assembly were last held on 13 December 2010. In that election, the Unity Labor Party won 8 seats with 51.10% of the vote, while the New Democratic Party won 7 seats with 48.70%.

Main candidates in the election:

• Unity Labor Party (ULP)[1]
  • Leader: Ralph GONSALVES
  • Seats won in last election: 8
• New Democratic Party (NDP)
  • Leader: Arnhim EUSTACE
  • Seats won in last election: 7
• Democratic Republican Party (DRP)
  • Leader: Anesia BAPTISTE
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• SVG Green Party
  • Leader: Ivan O’NEAL
  • Seats won in last election: N/A

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 102,627 (July 2015 est.)

·         Registered Voters: 89,527 (2015)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 50,433 (July 2015 est.)

·         Is Saint Vincent and the Grenadines a signatory to CEDAW: N/A

·         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: 2 (9.52%)[2]

·         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: N/A

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

·         Population with a disability: 15,394