Parliament name |
House of Assembly |
Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
BACKGROUND |
Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
9 December 2015 |
Purpose of elections |
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves' Unity Labour Party (ULP) won an unprecedented fourth consecutive term, holding on to a one-seat majority over the New Democratic Party (NDP), led by former Prime Minister Arnhim Eustace. Mr. Gonsalves' son, Camillo, was elected to parliament for the first time, defeating NDP Chairman, Mr. Linton Lewis. No women were elected in 2015. During the election campaign, the major parties focused on policies to revive economy and to tackle unemployment, especially among young people.
The NDP claimed that the elections had been rigged. The Commonwealth Election Observer Team stated the elections were "generally peaceful and relatively well conducted" and the "shortfalls observed
are not significant enough to put in question the credibility of the outcome". On 10 December, Mr. Gonsalves was sworn in for a fourth term as Prime Minister. |
Date of previous elections: 13 December 2010
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature: 7 November 2015
Timing of election: Upon normal expiry
Expected date of next elections: December 2020
Number of seats at stake: 15 (full renewal)
Number of candidates: 43 (37 men, 6 women)
Percentage of women candidates: 14%
Number of parties contesting the election: 4
Number of parties winning seats: 2
Alternation of power: No
Number of parties in government: 1
Names of parties in government: United Labour Party (ULP)
Date of the first session of the new parliament: 30 December 2015
Name of the new Speaker: Mr. Jomo Sanga Thomas (ex officio) |
STATISTICS |
Voter turnout |
Round no 1 | 9 December 2015 |
Number of registered electors Voters Blank or invalid ballot papers Valid votes |
89'527 65'706 (73.39%)
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Notes
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Distribution of votes |
Round no 1
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Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
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% |
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United Labour Party (ULP) |
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New Democratic Party (NDP) |
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Distribution of seats |
Round no 1
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Political Group |
Total
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United Labour Party (ULP) |
8
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New Democratic Party (NDP) |
7
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Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men Women Percent of women |
20 3 13.04%
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Distribution of seats according to age |
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Distribution of seats according to profession |
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Comments |
Note on the number of women:
No women were elected in 2015.
Four members (senators) on the government side, including one woman, were sworn in by the Governor General on 14 December 2015.
Ms. Judith Jones Morgan was sworn in as Attorney General on 10 December.
On 30 December, two senators on the opposition side, including one woman, were sworn in.
There are thus three women (one government senator, one opposition senator and the Attorney General, who is an ex officio member) out of 23 members.
Sources:
House of Assembly (18.12.2015)
http://gov.vc
http://thecommonwealth.org
http://www.caribbeanelections.com/vc/elections/vc_results_2015.asp
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