Antigua and Barbuda Government - 1986

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Official name: Antigua and Barbuda

Type: independent state recognizing Elizabeth II as Chief of State

Capital: St. John’s on the island of Antigua

Political subdivisions: 6 parishes, 2 dependencies (Barbuda, Redonda)

Legal system: based on English common law; British Caribbean Court of Appeal, which has exclusive original jurisdiction and an appellate jurisdiction, consists of Chief Justice and five justices

Branches: bicameral legislative, 17-member popularly elected House of Representatives and 17-member Senate; executive, Prime Minister and Cabinet; judiciary, Court of Appeals

Government leaders: Vere Cornwall BIRD, Sr., Prime Minister (since 1976); Lester BIRD, Deputy Prime Minister (since 1976);

Sir Wilfred Ebenezer JACOBS, Governor General (since 1967)

Suffrage: universal suffrage at age 18

Elections: every five years; last general election 17 April 1984

Political parties and leaders: Antigua Labor Party (ALP), Vere C. Bird, Sr., Lester Bird;

United People’s Movement (UPM), George Herbert Walter; National Democratic Party (NDP), Dr. Ivor Heath

Voting strength: (1984 election) House of Representatives—ALP, 16 seats; independent, 1 seat

Communists: negligible

Other political or pressure groups: Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement (ACLM), a small leftist nationalist group led by Leonard “Tim” Hector

Member of: CARICOM, Commonwealth, F AO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, 1LO, IMF, ISO, OAS, UN, UNESCO, WHO, WMO

NOTE: The information regarding Antigua and Barbuda on this page is re-published from the 1986 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Antigua and Barbuda 1986 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Antigua and Barbuda 1986 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.