House of Assembly of Barbados
| House of Assembly | |
|---|---|
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
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Michael A. Carrington Since 15 January 2008 | |
Leader | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 30 |
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Political groups | Other parties in opposition |
| Elections | |
Last election | 21 February 2013 |
Next election | no later than May 2018 |
| Meeting place | |
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House of Assembly chamber Bridgetown, St. Michael, Barbados, West Indies | |
| Website | |
| The House of Assembly | |
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Barbados |
| Constitution |
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The House of Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. It has 30 Members of Parliament (MPs), MPs are directly elected in single member constituencies using the simple-majority (or First-past-the-post) system for a term of five years. The House of Assembly sits roughly 40–45 days a year.
The Barbadian House of Assembly chamber is located in the east-wing of The Public Buildings on Broad Street, in Bridgetown, Barbados. The Speaker of the House becomes the thirty-first member when there is a tie vote.
Oath or affirmation
Under section 59 of the constitution, before entering upon the functions of his or her office, the MPs must take the oath of allegiance and the oath of office. According to the "First Schedule" section of the Constitution of Barbados, the official Oath of office for the Prime Minister, Ministers of Parliament, and Parliamentary Secretaries of Barbados is as follows:
| “ | I, _________________________, being appointed (Prime Minister/Minister/Parliamentary Secretary), do swear that I will do the best of my judgement, at all times when so required, freely give my counsel and advice to the Governor General (or any other person for the time being lawfully performing the functions of that office) for the good management of the public affairs of Barbados, and I do further swear that I will not on any account, at any time whatsoever, disclose the counsel, advice, opinion or vote of any particular Minister or Parliamentary Secretary and that I will not, except with the authority of the Cabinet and to such extent as may be required for the good management of the affairs of Barbados, directly or indirectly reveal the business or proceedings of the Cabinet or the nature or contents of any documents communicated to me as (Prime Minister/Minister/Parliamentary Secretary) or any matter coming to my knowledge in my capacity as such and that in all things I will be a true and faithful (Prime Minister/Minister/Parliamentary Secretary), so Help me God. | ” |
Next election
According to article 61 of the Constitution of Barbados, general elections to the House of Assembly must take place no later than five years after the opening of parliament following the latest election. Following the 2013 election the current parliament was opened on 6 March[1] means the next election must take place or before this date in 2018.
Latest elections
| Parties | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Labour Party | 70,135 | 53.21 | 20 |
| Barbados Labour Party | 61,316 | 46.52 | 10 |
| People's Empowerment Party | 198 | 0.15 | — |
| Independents | 129 | 0.10 | — |
| People's Democratic Congress | 28 | 0.02 | — |
| Total valid votes | 131,806 | 100.00 | 30 |
| Source: The Nation | |||
| Parties | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Labour Party | 78,566 | 51.28 | 16 |
| Barbados Labour Party | 74,027 | 48.32 | 14 |
| Bajan Free Party | 94 | 0.06 | — |
| People Democratic Congress | 38 | 0.02 | — |
| New Barbados Kingdom Alliance | 72 | 0.05 | - |
| Independents | 407 | 0.27 | - |
| Total valid votes | 153,204 | 100.00 | 30 |
| Source: The Nation | |||
Previous elections
In previous elections the National Democratic Party (NDP), the Barbados National Party (BNP), the Conservatives and Independents also won seats besides the two big parties - the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). The DLP which had been in opposition since 1994, won a surprise victory of 20 seats to 10, on January 16, 2008 DLP leader David Thompson (Barbadian politician) was sworn in as the 6th Prime Minister of Barbados. Freundel Stuart was sworn in, in 2010 because of the death of the Prime Minister David Thompson. Freundel Stuart was sworn in on February 23, 2013 by obtaining sixteen out of thirty seat. Elections 2013 was one of the closest election Barbados has every seen.
election BLP DLP NDP BNP Conservatives Independents 21 February 2013 14 16 15 January 2008 10 20 21 May 2003 23 7 20 January 1999 26 2 5 September 1994 19 8 1 21 January 1991 10 18 28 January 1986 3 24 1981 17 10 1976 17 7 1971 6 18 3 November 1966 8 14 2 1961 4 14 4 2 1956 15 4 4 1
See also
References
- ↑ Dottin, Bea (6 March 2013). "All in place for opening of Parliament". NationNews Barbados. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
External links
- House of Assembly
- Reports of General Elections and By-Elections, Electoral and Boundaries Commission (E&BC)