Government & politics — Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

• history: previous 1969, 1975; latest drafted 26 July 1979, effective 27 Octobe
• r 1979 (The Saint Vincent Constitution Order 1979) amendments: proposed by the House of Assembly; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly membership and assent of the governor general; passage of amendments to constitutional sections on fundamental rights and freedoms, citizen protections, various government functions and authorities, and constitutional amendment procedures requires approval by the Assembly membership, approval in a referendum of at least two thirds of the votes cast, and assent of the governor general

• chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor
• General Susan DOUGAN (since 1 August 2019) head of government: Pr
• ime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor gener
• al on the advice of the prime minister elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

Description

unicameral House of Assembly (23 seats; 15 representatives directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote, 6 senators appointed by the governor general, and 2 ex officio members - the speaker of the house and the attorney general; members serve 5-year terms)

Elections

last held on 5 November 2020 (next to be held in 2025)

Election Results

• percent of vote by party - ULP 49.58%, NDP 50.34%, other 0.8%
• seats by party - ULP 9, NDP 6

• 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, traveling to member states on a schedule to hear appeals from the High Court and subordinate courts; High Court judges reside in the member states, with 2 assigned to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; note - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is also a member of the
• Caribbean Court of Justice judge selection and term of office: chief justice of Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court appointed by Her Majesty, Queen ELIZABETH II; other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, an independent body of judicial officials; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65; High Court judges appointed fo
• r life with mandatory retirement at age 62 subordinate courts: magistrates' courts

• New Democratic Party or NDP [Dr. Godwin L. FRIDAY]
• SVG Green Party or SVGP [Ivan O'NEAL]
• Unity Labor Party or ULP [Dr. Ralph GONSALVES] (formed in 1994 by the coalition of Saint Vincent Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU)

• yes citizenship by descent: at least one parent must be a citizen of
• yes residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WTO

embassy

the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

chief of mission

Ambassador Lou-Anne Gaylene GILCHRIST (since 18 January 2017)

chancery

1627 K Street, NW, Suite 704, Washington, DC 20006

telephone

[1] (202) 364-6730

FAX

[1] (202) 364-6736

Email address and website

• mail@embsvg.com
• http://wa.embassy.gov.vc/washington/

consulate(s) general

New York