Barbados became an independent nation from the British all the way back in 1966 although it remained a part of the Commonwealth Realm, meaning that the British Monarch remained the Head of State of the island nation (represented by an appointed Governor-General), which although largely ceremonial, still served an important constitutional role in the country and also meant that Barbados was not a Republic – the country could elect its own Parliament and therefore determine the Prime Minister and makeup of Government, but had no say over its Head of State. But this has now changed.
Following the landslide win of the then opposition Barbados Labour Party in the 2018 parliamentary elections the island was set towards becoming a Republic with an announcement made by the Government in September 2020 saying it intended to become a Republic by the 30th November 2021. This means that Barbados would remove the British Monarch (and therefore her representative the Governor-General) from the Head of State position for the island nation and a presidential republic would be established with an elected President as Head of State. Although Barbados is no longer a part of the Commonwealth Realm, it will still remain a part of the larger Commonwealth of Nations which includes many Republics as well as existing Commonwealth Realm countries, and is an organisation for cooperation between former British colonies, possessions, dependencies, and protectorates.
The final Governor-General, Sandra Mason, was nominated jointly by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition to become the first President of Barbados, meaning the country would have a female President first. She was subsequently elected to become the President-elect by the Parliament of Barbados by getting majority votes in the House and Senate (27 and 18 votes respectively, both absolute majorities) on the 20th October this year and is planned to be officially inaugurated into office tomorrow, officially ending the British monarch’s rule over the island. There were no other candidates in the election but it is probable that future General Elections may potentially become more competitive. The position is meant to be more multi-partisan than not and as is usual a guarantor of the constitution.
The Prime Minister remains the Head of Government and the system in general remains modeled after the Westminster style. Barbados plans to keep electing the President via its Parliament for now, where the President can either be elected via a joint-nomination between the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, or if there is no agreement on a joint-nomination within 60-days, a vote of both chambers of Parliament will determine the winner of a competitive/open Presidential election, whereby the winner will require a two-thirds majority of the votes in both chambers, open elections allow candidates to be nominated by the Prime Minister alone, Leader of the Opposition alone, or at least 10-members of Parliament jointly. The President like many other Presidents will serve a 5-year term.
It is of note that even if both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition agree on a candidate this can still be challenged by members of Parliament and therefore require a vote to happen that would need two-thirds majority, on whether they accept or reject the Presidential nomination, if there are no such challenges to such a joint-nomination then the President is simply automatically elected without any vote.
The President has taken over all the powers that were held by the former Governor-General position and so if you would like to find out about their powers you can read my older Barbados Government System post and substitute President for Governor-General, do note though that this post comes from early on in this series and so is not as good as I would like it to have been now I look back on it, especially compared to much more recent ones that have a lot more information and background.
In basic terms and as stated the President guarantees the Constitution, their role is in a legal and practical capacity and is not meant to be politically divided. The President holds constitutional power within the three branches of Government, the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary. On most matters the President will use their powers on advice of the Prime Minister, although certain scenarios allow the Head of State to use certain specific reserve powers under the constitution and law without the approval of the Head of Government or other authority.
The President appoints the Prime Minister based on who has the most confidence, always being the leader of the largest party by convention, and also appoints the Leader of the Opposition who by convention is the leader of the second largest party. The President also appoints the Cabinet of the Government at the direction of the Prime Minister, and can modify its makeup at the direction of the Prime Minister.
For the legislative the President assents and signs bills into law passed by the Parliament although does have the power to withhold assent and veto bills. The President also appoints Senators to the Senate on advice of the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition, and also some at their own discretion taking into account representation of religious, social, economic, and other areas. The President also summons, dissolves, and can prorogue Parliament, usually always on advice of the governing Cabinet.
And on the judicial front the President holds the power to pardon, and can appoint judges via joint-recommendations of the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition.
So, is it perfect? Probably not, many people have issues with this sort of system. But we also have to keep in mind it is early yet and changes may yet be made as time goes on, we can think of the next 5-years as a sort of transition period as it is the first President. I am sure as time goes on the system will be amended to become more unique to Barbados as they may see fit. I would say this first step is progress nonetheless from a long colonial past.
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