House of Assembly of Barbados

House of Assembly
Type
Type	Lower House of the Parliament of Barbados
Leadership
Speaker	Michael A. Carrington Since 15 January 2008
Leader	John D. E. Boyce (Democratic Labour Party - DLP) Since 12 February 2008
Leader of the Opposition	Mia Mottley (Barbados Labour Party - BLP) Since 18 October 2010
Structure
Seats	30
Political groups	Her Majesty's Government      Democratic Labour Party - DLP (16) HM Loyal Opposition      Barbados Labour Party - BLP (14) Other parties in opposition
Elections
Last election	21 February 2013
Next election	no later than May 2018
Meeting place
House of Assembly chamber Bridgetown, St. Michael, Barbados, West Indies
Website
The House of Assembly

Barbados
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Barbados
Constitution
Executive Monarch Elizabeth II Governor-General Elliott Belgrave Prime Minister (list) Freundel Stuart Cabinet Ministries
Legislature House of Assembly Speaker: Michael Carrington Senate President: Kerryann Ifill Leader Opposition Leader: Mia Mottley Legislation
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The House of Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. It has 30 Members of Parliament (MPs), MPs are directly elected in single member constituencies using the simple-majority (or First-past-the-post) system for a term of five years. The House of Assembly sits 40 roughly 40–45 days a year.

The Barbadian House of Assembly chamber is located in the east-wing of The Public Buildings on Broad Street, in Bridgetown, Barbados. The Speaker of the House becomes the thirty-first member when there is a tie vote.

Oath or affirmation

Under section 59 of the constitution, before entering upon the functions of his or her office, the MPs must take the oath of allegiance and the oath of office. According to the "First Schedule" section of the Constitution of Barbados, the official Oath of office for the Prime Minister, Ministers of Parliament, and Parliamentary Secretaries of Barbados is as follows:

“ I, _________________________, being appointed (Prime Minister/Minister/Parliamentary Secretary), do swear that I will do the best of my judgement, at all times when so required, freely give my counsel and advice to the Governor General (or any other person for the time being lawfully performing the functions of that office) for the good management of the public affairs of Barbados, and I do further swear that I will not on any account, at any time whatsoever, disclose the counsel, advice, opinion or vote of any particular Minister or Parliamentary Secretary and that I will not, except with the authority of the Cabinet and to such extent as may be required for the good management of the affairs of Barbados, directly or indirectly reveal the business or proceedings of the Cabinet or the nature or contents of any documents communicated to me as (Prime Minister/Minister/Parliamentary Secretary) or any matter coming to my knowledge in my capacity as such and that in all things I will be a true and faithful (Prime Minister/Minister/Parliamentary Secretary), so Help me God. ”

Latest elections

 Summary of the 15 January 2008 Barbados House of Assembly election results

Parties	Votes	%	Seats
Democratic Labour Party	70,135	53.21	20
Barbados Labour Party	61,316	46.52	10
People's Empowerment Party	198	0.15	—
Independents	129	0.10	—
People's Democratic Congress	28	0.02	—
Total valid votes	131,806	100.00	30
Source: The Nation

 Summary of the 21 February 2013 Elections

Parties	Votes	%	Seats
Democratic Labour Party	78,566	51.28	16
Barbados Labour Party	74,027	48.32	14
Bajan Free Party	94	0.06	—
People Democratic Congress	38	0.02	—
New Barbados Kingdom Alliance	72	0.05	-
Independents	407	0.27	-
Total valid votes	153,204	100.00	30
Source: The Nation

Previous elections

Main article: Elections in Barbados

In previous elections the National Democratic Party (NDP), the Barbados National Party (BNP), the Conservatives and Independents also won seats besides the two big parties - the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). The DLP which had been in opposition since 1994, won a surprise victory of 20 seats to 10, on January 16, 2008 DLP leader David Thompson (Barbadian politician) was sworn in as the 6th Prime Minister of Barbados. Freundel Stuart was sworn in, in 2010 because of the death of the Prime Minister David Thompson. Freundel Stuart was sworn in on February 23, 2013 by obtaining sixteen out of thirty seat. Elections 2013 was one of the closest election Barbados has every seen.

election	BLP	DLP	NDP	BNP	Conservatives	Independents
21 February 2013	14	16
15 January 2008	10	20
21 May 2003	23	7
20 January 1999	26	2
5 September 1994	19	8	1
21 January 1991	10	18
28 January 1986	3	24
1981	17	10
1976	17	7
1971	6	18
3 November 1966	8	14		2
1961	4	14		4		2
1956	15	4			4	1

See also

• Parliament of Barbados
• Senate of Barbados
• Politics of Barbados
• List of legislatures by country

External links

• House of Assembly
• Reports of General Elections and By-Elections, Electoral and Boundaries Commission (E&BC)