Government and Politics
The capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is Kingstown. The country is a sovereign parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth Realm. The executive branch of government includes the Governor General (representing the head of state Elizabeth II), the prime minister (head of government) and the cabinet. The current Prime Minister is Ralph Gonsalves.
The legislative branch of government is the unicameral House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, seating 15 elected members representing single-member constiuencies and six appointed members known as Senators.
The judicial branch of government is divided into district courts, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, and the Privy Council in London being the court of last resort.
The parliamentary term of office is five years, although the Prime Minister may call elections at any time. The political parties with parliamentary representation are the New Democratic Party NDP and the Unity Labour Party (ULP).
Read more about this topic: Saint Vincent (island)
Famous quotes containing the words government and/or politics:
“We have passed the time of ... the laisser-faire [sic] school which believes that the government ought to do nothing but run a police force.”
—William Howard Taft (18571930)
“His talk was like a spring, which runs
With rapid change from rocks to roses:
It slipped from politics to puns,
It passed from Mahomet to Moses;
Beginning with the laws which keep
The planets in their radiant courses,
And ending with some precept deep
For dressing eels, or shoeing horses.”
—Winthrop Mackworth Praed (18021839)