At stake in this election:

• 15 seats in the House of Assembly

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister James Fitz-Allen MITCHELL
• Assembly: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has a unicameral House of Assembly with 15 seats.

* The Queen is represented by Governor General Charles ANTROBUS.

Description of electoral system:

• The Queen is hereditary N/A.
• In the House of Assembly, 15 members are elected by simple majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 6 members are appointed to serve 5-year terms.***

*** In the House of Assembly, 15 members are elected in single-member constituencies and 6 members are appointed by the Governor General, all to serve 5-year terms. Among the appointed members, 4 are on the advice of the prime minister and 2 on the advice of the leader of the opposition.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: New Democratic Party (NDP)
  • Leader: James F. MITCHELL
  • Seats won in this election: 8
  • Seats won in last election: 12
• Party: Unity Labour Party (ULP)
  • Leader: Vincent BEACHE
  • Seats won in this election: 7
  • Seats won in last election: 3

Last Parliamentary election:

• Legislative elections were last held on February 21, 1994.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 107,923 (1998)
• Registered Voters: 76,469 (1998)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 53,689 (1998)

·         Is Saint Vincent and the Grenadines a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (4 August 1981)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 1 (following the 1998 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 97 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Saint Vincent and the Grenadines a signatory to CRPD: No

·         Has Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ratified CRPD: Yes, accession (29 October 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 16,188 (est.)