Politics of Montserrat

Politics of Montserrat takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the Premier is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Montserrat is an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes Montserrat on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Legislative Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Military defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.

Executive branch

See also: Attorney General of Montserrat

Main office holders

Office	Name	Party	Since
Queen	Elizabeth II		6 February 1952
Governor	Andrew Pearce		1 February 2018
Premier	Easton Taylor-Farrell	MCAP	19 November 2019

The Governor is appointed by the Monarch. The Premier is appointed by the Governor from among the members of the Legislative Assembly.

His cabinet is appointed by the Governor from among the elected members of the Legislative Assembly and consists also of the Attorney General, and the Finance Secretary.

The current Premier of the island is Easton Taylor-Farrell, of the Movement for Change and Prosperity, replacing the outgoing Premier, Donaldson Romeo of the People's Democratic Movement, who was the second Premier of Montserrat.

Legislative branch

Montserrat elects on territorial level a legislature. The Legislative Assembly has 9 members, elected for a five-year term in one constituency.

Political parties and elections

Political parties do not adhere to a single defined ideology and are difficult to distinguish from each other. Instead, policy emphasis shifts depending on the popular approval of the party leader and their policies.[1]

Most recent election

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
People's Democratic Movement	11,591	50.02	7	New
Movement for Change and Prosperity	8,193	35.36	2	–4
Alliance of Independent Candidates	965	4.16	0	New
Independents	2,422	10.45	0	–3
Total	23,171	100	9	0
Valid ballots
Invalid/blank ballots
Total votes cast	2,747	100
Registered voters/turnout	3,866	71.06
Source: Elections 2014

Judicial branch

The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consists of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal.

Administrative divisions

Montserrat is divided in 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, and Saint Peter.

International organization participation

CARICOM, Caribbean Development Bank, ECLAC (associate), ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, WCL

References

1. Cawley, Charles (4 September 2015). Colonies in Conflict: The History of the British Overseas Territories. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 245. ISBN 9781443881289. Retrieved 19 November 2019.