With Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state, St Vincent and the Grenadines is a member of the Commonwealth. The Governor General represents the Queen, although his role is mostly purely ceremonial.
The country’s parliamentary system has been handed down from the British, and is a democracy whose prime minister is Ralph Gonsalves, who leads the Unity Labour Party. This is currently the majority party in the House of Assembly, a one-house parliament with fifteen MPs and six senators.
One of the Governor General’s few roles is to appoint these senators, although he does so with advice from the Prime Minister and head of the opposition.
In law too, the country owes much to the British, and in common with other English-speaking Caribbean countries, St. Vincent’s judiciary is built on English common law. Even though the islands have eleven courts and a high court and court of appeal, the highest court is still the Privy Council in London. [Read more...]
