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Elections in Antigua and Barbuda take place in the framework of a parliamentary democracy.

Electoral system

Antigua and Barbuda's electoral law was passed on 31 October 1975 and was last amended in 2002. Elections for the House are held every five years, although early elections can take place if Parliament is dissolved by the Prime Minister. By-elections must take place within 120 days of a member vacating their seat.

Members are elected via a plurality in single-member constituencies. Voters must be aged 18 or over, be citizens of the country or citizens of a Commonwealth country who has lived in the country for at least three years prior to a qualifying date, and have been resident in the constituency for at least a month prior to the qualifying date.

History

Universal suffrage was introduced in 1951, although less than 20% of the population was registered to vote during the 1950s. Although they were defeated by the Progressive Labour Movement in 1971, the party regained power in 1976 (despite receiving fewer votes than the PLM) and remained the ruling party until 2004 under the leadership of Vere Bird and later his son, Lester Bird. During this period elections were considered to be neither free nor fair. After taking over from his father prior to the 1994 elections, Lester had promised to fight corruption. However, the elections that year remained neither free nor far, with no guarantee of secret balloting, a voter registration open to abuse and the voter roll being inflated by 25% with emigrants or deceased residents. Continued irregularities in the 1999 elections were noted by a Commonwealth observer group, which recommended the establishment of an independent Electoral Commission and year-round registration for elections. The Commission was set up in 2001 and the ALP's second period of dominance ended with defeat by the United Progressive Party in the 2004 elections. The UPP won a second term in office in 2009. However, in the 2014 general election, the Antigua Labour Party won 14 of 17 seats, while the ruling UPP won the other three seats. In the 2018 general election, held on 21 March, the ABLP won 15 seats, the UPP won 1 seat and the Barbuda Peoples Movement the seat for Barbuda.

Latest election

Next election

References

  • Antigua Elections website
  • Antigua and Barbuda Political Database of the Americas