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Saint Lucia - Politics

St. Lucia does not have a recent history of political violence. Elections are peaceful and considered free and transparent. The United Workers Party (UWP) was once the dominant force in the politics of St. Lucia. Until 1997, the UWP governed the country for all but three years since independence. John Compton was premier of St. Lucia from 1964 until independence in February 1979 and remained prime minister until elections later that year.

The St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) won the first post-independence elections in July 1979, taking 12 of 17 seats in parliament. A period of turbulence ensued, in which squabbling within the party led to several changes of prime minister. Pressure from the private sector and the unions forced the government to resign in 1982. New elections were then called and were won resoundingly by Compton's UWP, which took 14 of 17 seats.

Political control of Parliament in the 1980s remained firmly in the hands of John G. M. Compton and the United Workers' Party (UWP). There were, however, two other political parties contending for parliamentary representation, the St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) and the Progressive Labour Party (PLP), a relatively new party formed from a disaffected group of the SLP in 1982. The SLP was the only other party to have won control of Parliament since independence.

The UWP, founded in 1964, held a majority in Parliament from 1964 until 1979 and again beginning in 1982. Compton has been the political leader since its inception and held the office of prime minister after 1982. The UWP was the most conservative of the three parties, but it had a long history of moderate economic and political policies that were widely supported by the island's voting constituency in the 1982 elections. These included support for social development, such as improved education and health standards, and sound economic development founded on a capitalist-based economy stressing tourism and the expansion of the manufacturing sector with both foreign and domestic capital. Although support for the UWP fell in the 1987 elections, it was not a clear refutation of the party's platform, but rather a general lack of response to the elections. Foreign policy goals of the UWP were directed primarily at continuing support for economic development by maintaining strong trade relationships and attracting grants for development projects. These foreign policy goals supported close ties with St. Lucia's traditional allies, the United States, Britain, and the Caricom countries.

The SLP, which dates back to 1950 and is the country's oldest existing political party, controlled Parliament from 1951 until 1964 and won the first postindependence election in July 1979. It has been the minority party, however, since 1982. The SLP's fundamental political and economic positions have been more liberal than those of the UWP. The SLP developed an electoral platform for 1987 that advocated closer relations with nonaligned countries and Cuba and suggested reevaluating St. Lucia's traditional support for the United States. Economically, the SLP promoted a stronger role for local entrepreneurs and capital in order to limit foreign investment as a controlling element of the economy. It proposed to accomplish its program by giving government a greater role in providing location and financing for the development of locally owned small businesses. Additionally, the SLP advocated diversifying the agricultural sector in order to meet local food needs through import substitution.

The radical PLP was created as a dissenting alternative during an SLP party leadership crisis in 1982. Headed by George Odium, a former minister of foreign affairs and deputy political leader for the SLP, it has been the smallest parliamentary minority since its founding. The PLP took a very strong line against United States policies in the Caribbean, but it lacked a coordinated economic platform.

In the late 1980s, political interests also were upheld by trade unions. Unions represented about 20 percent of the work force and as a result were able to influence national politics and economics. Political parties had to consider the interests of union constituencies very carefully when developing a political agenda. In the past, general strikes had been employed to force changes in the prime minister's office, and they could be coordinated very quickly if an opposition consensus was found.

The largest unions, which had a combined membership of approximately 10,000 workers, were the Farmers' and Farm Workers' Union, National Workers' Union, St. Lucia Workers' Union, and Seamen and Waterfront Workers' Union. Other unions with some influence on St. Lucian politics were the St. Lucia Civil Servants' Association, St. Lucia Nurses' Association, St. Lucia Teachers' Union, and Vieux Fort General and Dock Workers' Union.

The dynamics of political interaction between trade unions and political parties was evident in the first two elections following independence. Labor played a key role in the election of SLP leader Allen Louisy in 1979; it also forced the party from office in 1982, however, largely because of its united stand against the divisive internal politics of the SLP leadership. A series of political moves caused by feuding factions within the SLP actually led to the resignation of the party's prime minister in 1981 and brought to power the attorney general, Winston Cenac. Because Cenac refused to hold general elections as he promised, public outcry, led predominantly by labor groups, eventually turned into widespread protests and a general strike. Cenac finally resigned in January 1982; he was replaced by Michael Pilgrim, who essentially served as a caretaker prime minister until the May 1982 general election.

Compton and the UWP ran a strong election campaign, espousing the return of economic growth, private investment, expanded tourism, and diversification of the agricultural sector. Because of the previous Parliament's inability to govern effectively and the poor economic performance of the country in 1980-8 1 immediately following Hurricane Allen, the UWP captured a resounding majority of fourteen seats and took firm control of government for the next five years.

From 1982 until the next general election of April 6, 1987, St. Lucia enjoyed relative economic success and continued political stability. As the 1987 elections neared, preliminary reports by journalists and international observers speculated that the UWP would be returned to power with another strong parliamentary majority. The 1987 elections, however, surprised all parties. Although Compton remained prime minister, he did so with only a single seat majority in Parliament. The UWP won only nine seats; all others were captured by the SLP. A lack of substantive political issues, poor voter turnout, and a generally complacent attitude among UWP supporters were considered the primary reasons for the ruling party's loss of five seats in Parliament.

Seeking to increase his slim margin, Prime Minister Compton suspended parliament and called new elections. In an unprecedented move, Prime Minister Compton called for new elections to be held on 30 April 1987. The prime minister hoped to increase his majority position in Parliament by engendering greater voter turnout for the second electoral contest. Although the subsequent election produced a hotly contested seat on the eastern side of the island, this unprecedented snap election gave Compton the same results as before -- the UWP retained nine seats and the SLP eight - the voters returned the identical candidates to office.

After Compton declared that he would accept the results, the SLP's Cenac crossed over to the UWP in June 1987. The action gave Compton a parliamentary majority of ten to seven. Cenac was rewarded with the foreign minister's post, but he was formally dismissed from the SLP. The election marked Compton's third time as prime minister following the granting of independence in February 1979. The Compton government, however, expected increasing opposition in its attempt to legislate the UWP platform in the second half of the 1980s.

In April 1992, Prime Minister Compton's government again defeated the SLP. In this election, however, the government increased its majority in parliament to 11 seats.

In 1996, Compton announced his resignation as prime minister in favor of his chosen successor Dr. Vaughan Lewis, former director-general of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Dr. Lewis became Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Planning and Development on April 2, 1996. The SLP also had a change of leadership with former CARICOM official Dr. Kenny Anthony succeeding businessman Julian Hunte.

In elections held May 23, 1997, the St. Lucia Labour Party won all but one of the 17 seats in parliament, and Dr. Kenny Anthony became Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Planning and Development on May 24, 1997.

In elections of December 3, 2001, the SLP won 14 of the 17 available seats. The leader of the UWP, Dr. Morella Joseph, failed to win a seat. Marcus Nicholas served as leader of the parliamentary opposition. Former Prime Minister Sir John Compton came out of retirement to become leader of the opposition UWP in 2005.

The United Workers Party won an upset victory in elections held December 11, 2006, taking 11 seats against 6 won by the St. Lucia Labour Party. Sir John Compton once again returned to the position of Prime Minister, as well as Minister of Finance.

In May 2007, Prime Minister Compton became ill and appointed Minister for Health Stephenson King as Acting Prime Minister. King served in this capacity until Compton died on September 7, 2007. Two days later, King was sworn in as Prime Minister.

On 28 November 2011, the SLP defeated the UWP by winning 11 of 17 parliamentary seats. The UWP filed court challenges over the results in three constituencies; these had not been resolved by year’s end. SLP leader Kenny Anthony was sworn in as prime minister on November 30; Anthony had previously served twice as prime minister in the period 1977 to 2006. Electoral observer missions from the Organization of American States (OAS), the Caribbean Community, and the Commonwealth Secretariat considered the elections generally free and fair. The OAS mission’s preliminary report stated the elections were conducted in a fluid and peaceful manner and noted an increase in participation by women as candidates and as election workers. Its final report recommended that the government update the voters’ registry, redraw constituency boundaries, adopt rules to prohibit anonymous and foreign campaign contributions, take steps to increase voter participation, and consider a quota system to provide incentives for greater participation by women in politics.

Voters in Saint Lucia went to the polls on 06 June 2016 to elect members to the 17-seat House of Assembly. The United Workers Party (UWP), now led by former tourism minister Allen Chastanet, regained power after four years in opposition, taking 11 of the 17 seats. Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony of the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP), who was seeking a fourth term in office, conceded defeat and announced that he would not be the Leader of the opposition in the new House of Assembly. Chastanet was sworn in as Prime Minister on 7 June. Elections were not constitutionally required until April 2017 but the Prime Minister called early elections in May, stating that they were needed to ensure "peace, stability and certainty" in the country. During the election campaign, the major parties focused on measures to stimulate the economy, reducing unemployment and tax reforms, including the reduction of the VAT.