| Parliament name |
Houses of Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name |
House of Assembly |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Senate
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
11 December 2006 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the House of Assembly on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
At elections held on 11 December 2006
the ruling St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) sought a third consecutive term in office. The SLP had won 14 of the 17 seats at stake at the last elections in 2001
while the United Workers Party (UWP) had taken the remaining three seats.
In the 2006 elections
the UWP was led by veteran politician Sir John Compton
who had governed the country from 1964 to independence in 1979 and then from 1982 to 1996.
Prime Minister Kenny Anthony called on voters to support the SLP Government's achievements in the previous two terms. In particular
unemployment had fallen from 22 per cent in 1997 to 15 per cent in 2006 and GDP had been on the rise since 2002
growing by a record 5.4 per cent in 2005. The UWP pledged to create 7
000 new jobs
particularly in the IT industry
and to reduce unemployment to 10 per cent within five years. Pre-election opinion polls predicting an increased majority for the SLP were dismissed by the UWP leadership.
Approximately 58 per cent of the 132
500 registered voters turned out at the polls
which were observed by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organization of American States (OAS). Both organizations said they were satisfied that the poll had been conducted "in a free and fair manner"
but recommended changes to election campaign financing rules in order to curb the ever higher levels of media spending.
To general surprise
the final results gave a resounding victory to the opposition UWP. The UWP won 11 seats against six for the SLP
even though it received only 2
372 more votes in total. The outgoing Prime Minister and the former Minister of Tourism
Mr. Phillip J. Pierre
were the only SLP candidates to retain their seats. No women were elected.
Sir John Compton was sworn in as Prime Minister on 15 December 2006. The newly elected House of Assembly held its first session on 9 January 2007. Ms. Sarah Flood-Beaubrun was elected as the new House Speaker
becoming the first woman to assume the post.
The Senate
whose members are appointed by the Governor General
was renewed at the same time as the House. Ms. Rosemary Husband-Mathurin assumed the post of Senate Speaker on 9 January 2007. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 11 December 2006 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
132'545
77'487 (58.46%)
1'731
75'756 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| United Workers Party (UWP) |
|
38'894 |
|
|
51.34 |
|
|
| Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) |
|
36'604 |
|
|
48.32 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Gain/Loss |
|
|
|
| United Workers Party (UWP) |
11
|
8 |
|
|
|
| Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) |
6
|
-8 |
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
17
1
5.56%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Source:
Clerk of Parliament (14.12.2006
10.01.2007)
Note:
The 'Distribution of seats' above refers to the 17 directly elected members. The 'Distribution of seats according to sex' refers to all 18 members of the House of Assembly (17 directly elected members and the Speaker). Ms. Flood-Beaubrun
who was not one of the directly elected members
became a member of the House by virtue of her election as Speaker.
In November 2007
by-elections were held to fill the seat vacated by former prime minister John Compton
who passed away in September. Ms. Jeannine Rambally
daughter of former prime minister Compton
representing the United Workers Party (UWP) won the seat
becoming the first woman to be elected in St. Lucia. |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
