At stake in this election:

• 17 seats in the House of Representatives

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Baldwin SPENCER
• Assembly: Antigua and Barbuda has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate with 17 seats and the House of Representatives with 17 seats.

* The Queen is represented by Governor-General Louisse LAKE-TACK.

Description of electoral system:

• The Queen is hereditary N/A.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the governor-general.
• In the Senate 17 members are appointed to serve 5-year terms. In the House of Representatives 17 members are elected by simple majority vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Coalition: United Progressive Party (UPP)*
  Leader: Baldwin SPENCER
  Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 9
  Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 12
• Party: Antigua Labour Party (ALP)
  Leader: Lester Bryant BIRD
  Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 7
  Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 4
• Party: Barbuda People's Movement (BPM)
  Leader: Thomas H. FRANK
  Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 1
  Seats won in last House of Representatives election: N/A
• Party: Organisation for National Development (OND)
  Leader: Glentis GOODWIN
  Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 0
  Seats won in last House of Representatives election: N/A
• Party: Others
  Leader: N/A
  Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 0
  Seats won in last House of Representatives election: N/A

* UPP is a coalition of three parties - Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement (ACLM), Progressive Labor Movement (PLM), and United National Democratic Party (UNDP).

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 84,522 (July 2008 est.)
• Registered Voters: 52,183 (March 2009 )