Politics of the United States Virgin Islands
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| United States Virgin Islands |
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Politics of the United States Virgin Islands takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic dependency, whereby the Governor is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. The United States Virgin Islands are a unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior. Executive power is exercised by the government. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Even though they are U.S. citizens, Virgin Islanders cannot vote in U.S. Presidential elections.
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[edit] Executive branch
| Main office holders | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
| President of the United States | George W. Bush | Republican | 20 January 2001 |
| Governor | Charles Wesley Turnbull | Democrat | 5 January 1999 |
The governor and the lieutenant governor are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms.
[edit] Legislative branch
The Virgin Islands have an unicameral Legislature. Fifteen senators -- seven from the district of Saint Croix, seven from the district of Saint Thomas and Saint John, and one senator at-large (who must be a resident of Saint John) -- are elected for a two-year term to the territorial legislature. As with all state and territorial legislatures, it has the power the institute budgets and override gubernatorial vetoes with a majority of representatives in favor. At the national level, the U.S. Virgin Islands elects a delegate to Congress. However, the elected delegate while able to vote in committee cannot participate in floor votes.
[edit] Political parties and elections
- The following election results include names of political parties. See for additional information about parties the List of political parties in the U.S. Virgin Islands. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
