IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: Barbados

Barbados

287,010	5
Population (as of Feb. 8, 2019)	Elections in our database
255,833	58.20%
Registered Voters (as of Jan. 4, 2022)	Average Turnout

Name	Official Name	Type
Barbadian House of Assembly		Lower House
Barbadian Senate		Upper House

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II *
Head of Government: Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY
Assembly: Barbados has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate with 21 seats and the House of Assembly with 30 seats.

* The Queen is represented by Acting Governor General Sandra MASON.

Description of electoral system:

The Queen is hereditary head of state.
Prime Minister is appointed by the governor-general.
In the Senate 21 members are appointed by the governor-general*. In the House of Assembly 30 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

* All seats are appointed by the Governor-General - 12 on the advice of the Prime Minister, 2 on the advice of the opposition leader, and 7 at his/her discretion.

Elections

Election For	Date	Votes	Registered Voters	Turn Out
Barbadian House of Assembly	2003-05-21	124,463	218,811	56.88%
Barbadian House of Assembly	2008-01-15	149,633	235,510	63.54%
Barbadian House of Assembly	2013-02-21	155,204	235,510	65.9%
Barbadian House of Assembly	2018-05-24	153,745	255,833	60.1%
Barbadian House of Assembly	2022-01-19	114,035	255,833	44.57%

Voter Turnout