| Michael Carrington ( M) |
| Pedro E. Eastmond ( M) |
Parliament Buildings
BRIDGETOWN
Tel.: (1246) 426 3712, 426 3717
Cable: Comparlas, Barbados
Telex: WB FOREIGN 9222
Fax: (1246) 436 4143
E-mail: parliamentbarbados@caribsurf.com
| http://www.barbadosparliament.com/ |
Vacancies arising between general elections are filled through by-elections held within 90 days.
Voting is not compulsory.
- Barbados citizenship (or Commonwealth citizenship if residence in the country for 3 years before elections)
- residence in a constituency for 3 months
- disqualifications: insanity, imprisonment, death sentence
- age: 21 years
- Barbados citizenship
- residence in the country for more than 7 years
- ineligibility: undischarged bankruptcy, allegiance to a foreign State, imprisonment exceeding 6 months, conviction of felony or of an offence involving dishonesty, electoral fraud
- members of armed or police forces
- judges
- director of public prosecutions
- Auditor-General
- deposit equivalent to US$ 125, reimbursed if the candidate is elected or obtains more than 1/6 of the total votes cast in the constituency.
Also available:
Archive of past election results for this chamber
Since independence in November 1966, the country's politics have been dominated by two parties: the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). In the previous elections held in May 2003, the BLP took 23 of the 30 seats at stake, while the remainder went to the DLP led by Mr. Clyde Mascoll. Mr. Arthur, who had been Prime Minister since 1994, was subsequently sworn in for his third term in office.
In January 2006, Mr. Mascoll resigned as DLP leader following a row over the party's leadership. He subsequently joined the BLP and later became Junior Finance Minister. A no-confidence motion against Mr. Mascoll was blocked on 4 December 2007, and the DLP boycotted parliamentary sessions until the House of Assembly was dissolved on 20 December.
On 26 November, Deputy Prime Minister, Ms. Mia Mottley, announced that a referendum on whether to retain the British Monarch as on the country's Head of State would be held jointly with the parliamentary elections. The introduction of a republic, replacing the current commonwealth system, has been a long-standing promise in the BLP manifesto. However, on 2 December, Ms. Mottley announced that the government had decided to postpone the referendum due to a number of unspecified concerns.
Although two other parties - the Peoples Empowerment Party (PEP) and the People's Democratic Congress (PDC) - were also in the race, opinion polls showed the 2008 elections would be a duel between the BLP and the DLP, led by Mr. David Thompson.
The DLP had launched its election manifesto as early as June 2007, and appealed particularly to young voters. It argued that, after 14 years of BLP government, it was "Time for a Change".
The BLP manifesto included various tax cuts, increased state allowances to the poor and measures to increase home ownership, as well as a health and wellness allowance of 5,000 Barbadian dollars (US$ 2,500) per person. Prime Minister Arthur pledged to bring the country to "full developed status" by 2025. The Prime Minister accused Taiwan of financing the DLP campaign, an accusation strongly denied by the DLP leader, Mr. Thompson.
Although the official turnout figure was not announced, turnout was high among the country's 230,000 registered voters. Many more young voters participated than in previous elections.
The final results gave 20 seats to the DLP, including five first-time members. The BLP took only ten seats, losing 13, and nine ministers and junior ministers from the outgoing government were not re-elected. Three women were elected.
On 16 January 2008, Mr. Thompson was sworn in as the country's new Prime Minister. On 19 January, he named an 18-member cabinet, which was sworn in on 20 January.
On 12 February, the newly-elected House of Assembly held its opening session and elected Mr. Michael Carrington (DLP) as its new Speaker.
| Round no 1 (15 January 2008): Election results | ||||
| Number of registered electors | ||||
| Voters | ||||
| Blank or invalid ballot papers | ||||
| Valid votes | ||||
| Round no 1: Distribution of votes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political Group | Candidates | Votes | % of votes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Democratic Labour Party (DLP) | 67.00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Barbados Labour Party (BLP) | 33.00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Round no 1: Distribution of seats | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political Group | Total of seats | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Democratic Labour Party (DLP) | 20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Barbados Labour Party (BLP) | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- reasons for interruption of the term: resignation, death, dissolution
- election is held at the first sitting of the newly elected Assembly or when a vacancy occurs
- after Members are sworn in
- candidatures must be submitted by a third party who is himself a Member of the House of Assembly
- candidatures must be seconded by another Member of the House of Assembly
- if several candidatures are submitted : a secret ballot is taken for each candidates in the order of their registration until one of them is elected.
- the Clerk announces the results without any delay
- organises the debates and sets speaking time
- examines the admissibility of questions, petitions, bills and amendments
- can suspend sittings for short periods
- ensures respect for provisions of the Constitution and Standing Orders
- makes announcements concerning the House of Assembly
- takes disciplinary measures in the event of disturbance, and lifts such measures
- establishes the list of speakers, gives (the Member who catches the President's eye would have the floor) and withdraws permission to speak
- calls for a vote, decides how it is to be carried out, verifies the voting procedure and cancels a vote in the event of irregularities
- checks the quorum
- authenticates the adopted texts and the records of debates
- interprets the rules or other regulations governing the life of the House of Assembly
Also available:
Archive of past election results for this chamber
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