Antigua & Barbuda

Government

Government type: parliamentary democracy (Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm Capital: name: Saint John's geographic coordinates: 17 07 N, 61 51 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) Administrative divisions: 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip Independence: 1 November 1981 (from the UK) National holiday: Independence Day, 1 November (1981) Constitution: several previous; latest presented 31 July 1981, effective 31 October 1981 (Antigua and Barbuda Constitutional Order 1981); amended 2009, 2011 (2016) Legal system: common law based on the English model International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction Citizenship: citizenship by birth: yes citizenship by descent: yes dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Rodney WILLIAMS (since 14 August 2014) head of government: Prime Minister Gaston BROWNE (since 13 June 2014) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general Legislative branch: description: bicameral Parliament consists of: Senate (17 seats; members appointed by the governor general) House of Representatives (17 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms) elections: House of Representatives - last held on 21 March 2018 (next to be held in March 2023) election results: percent of vote by party - ABLP 59.4%, UPP 37.2%, BPM 1.4%, other 1.9% ; seats by party - ABLP 15, UPP 1, BPM 1 Judicial branch: highest court(s): the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is the superior court of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States; the ECSC - headquartered on St. Lucia - consists of the Court of Appeal - headed by the chief justice and 4 judges - and the High Court with 18 judges; the Court of Appeal is itinerant, travelling to member states on a schedule to hear appeals from the High Court and subordinate courts; High Court judges reside at the member states with 2 assigned to Antigua and Barbuda judge selection and term of office: chief justice of Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court appointed by the Her Majesty, Queen ELIZABETH II; other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65; High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62 subordinate courts: Industrial Court; Magistrates' Courts Political parties and leaders: Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM Antigua Labor Party or ABLP [Gaston BROWNE] Antigua Barbuda True Labor Party or ABTLP [Sharlene SAMUEL] Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Trevor WALKER] Barbuda People's Movement for Change [Arthur NIBBS] Barbudans for a Better Barbuda [Ordrick SAMUEL] Democratic National Alliance or DNA [Joanne MASSIAH] Go Green for Life [Owen GEORGE] Progressive Labor Movement or PLM United National Democratic Party or UNDP United Progressive Party or UPP [Harold LOVELL] (a coalition of ACLM, PLM, UNDP)