At stake in this election:  

• The 9 seats (out of 11) in the Montserrat Legislative Council

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
• Queen’s Representative: Governor Adrian DAVIS (since 8 April 2011)
• Head of Government: Premier Reuben T. MEADE (since 27 September 2011)
• Assembly: Montserrat has a unicameral Parliament. The Legislative Council has 11 seats, 9 of which are popularly elected seats[i]

Description of electoral system:

• The Queen’s Representative, the Governor, is appointed by the monarch to serve at Her Majesty’s Pleasure
• The Prime Minister, after legislative elections, is usually the leader of the majority party[ii]
• In the Legislative Council, 9 members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms.[iii] The two remaining seats are filled by the Attorney General and Financial Secretary as Ex-Officio members.[iv]

Election Note:

• The election is scheduled for 12 September 2014.[v] The Montserrat Constitution requires elections to be held this year (2014).[vi]

Political entities in this electoral race:

• The Movement for Change and Prosperity (MCAP)
  • Leader: Peter D. A. QUEELEY[vii]
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 6
• People’s Democratic Movement (PDM)[viii]
  • Leader: Donaldson ROMEO[ix]
  • Seats won in last Assembly elections: 0

Last election:

• The last election to the Legislative Council in Montserrat was held on 8 September 2009.[x] The Movement for Change and Prosperity (MCAP) won 6 seats in the Legislative Council. Independent candidates won 3 seats. Turnout was at 66.75 percent with 2,347 voters out of 3,516 registered voters participating.[xi] Results can be found here.

Population and Voter Registration:

• Population: 5,215 (July 2014 est)[xii]
• Registered Voters: 3,516 (September 2009)[xiii]

*An enumeration exercise began June 2014 to ensure all persons who are eligible to vote are registered. The enumeration, held every five years, is from 1 June 2014 to 31 August 2014.[i]