GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
As head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is represented in Antigua
and Barbuda by a governor general who acts on the advice of the
prime minister and
the cabinet.
Antigua and Barbuda has a bicameral legislature: a 17-member
Senate appointed by the governor general - mainly on the advice
of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition - and a
17-member
popularly
elected House of Representatives. The prime minister is the leader
of the majority party in the House and conducts affairs of state
with the
cabinet.
The prime minister and the cabinet are responsible to the
Parliament. Elections must be held at least every 5 years but
may be called by the
prime minister at any time. Antigua and Barbuda has a multiparty
political system with
a long history of hard-fought elections, three of which have resulted
in peaceful changes of government. Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship,
movement, and association. Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the eastern
Caribbean court system. Jurisprudence is based on English common law.
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