Government systems in the Commonwealth Caribbean

OBJECTIVE

Differentiate between the types of government systems in the Commonwealth Caribbean.

COMMONWEALTH CARIBBEAN

This is a term used to refer to the independent English-speaking countries of the Caribbean region. Upon a country’s full independence from the United Kingdom, anglophone Caribbean, or Commonwealth Caribbean, has become the preferred term to describe the region. It may be seen as a replacement to the traditional term, the British West Indies.

TYPES OF GOVERNMENTS

There are many types of government to be found in the world. Governments can be classified into several types. Some of the more common types of governments are:

1. DEMOCRACY

The word ‘democracy’ literally means ‘rule by the people’. In a democracy, the people govern. They help in decision-making and usually elect their political representatives.

2. REPUBLIC

All ‘democracies’ are really republics. In a republic, the people elect representatives to make and enforce laws.

3. MONARCHY

A monarchy consists of rule by a king or queen. The United Kingdom, which has a queen, is really a republic because the queen has virtually no political power.

4. ARISTOCRACY

An aristocracy is rule by the aristocrats. Aristocrats are typically wealthy, educated people.

5. DICTATORSHIP

A dictatorship consists of rule by one person or a group of people. Very few dictators admit they are dictators; they almost always claim to be leaders of democracies.

TYPES OF GOVERNMENT SYSTEM IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION

CROWN COLONY

This is a British colony in which the Crown has the entire control of legislation and administration, as distinguished from one having a constitution and representative government. Crown Colonies are administered by a crown-appointed governor, or by elected or nominated legislative and executive councils with an official majority. Usually, the Crown retains rights of veto and of direct legislation by orders in council.

This is a system of British colonial administration under which Britain retains control over defence, foreign affairs, internal security, and various administrative and budget matters. Crown Colonies are governed internally by a British-appointed governor and a locally elected assembly. In late 1987, the British Crown colonies in the Caribbean consisted of the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Prior to the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica in 1865, Crown Colony government was limited to Trinidad and St Lucia. Over the next 35 years, however, Britain abolished the old representative system with its menacing assemblies that had flourished on many of the islands. Crown Colonies were governed directly by the Colonial Office in Britain and by a British-appointed governor on each island, who was assisted by a local council, most of whose members were appointed by the governor. As the 19th century progressed, however, an increasing number of officials were locally elected rather than appointed.

This system of modified Crown Colony rule began in Jamaica and was emulated in other West Indian colonies in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1940, the Crown Colony system was further tailored to make local councils even more representative and to give local officials more administrative responsibility. Nevertheless, defence, foreign affairs, and internal security remained the prerogatives of the Crown.

CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY

This is a system of government in which a monarch shares power with a constitutionally organised government. The monarch may be the

de facto head of state or purely a ceremonial leader. The constitution assigns the rest of the government’s power to the legislature and judiciary. It is seen as a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the guidelines of a constitution. This form of government differs from absolute monarchy in which an absolute monarch serves as the source of power in the state and is not legally guided by a constitution and has the powers to regulate his or her personal government.

Like Jamaica, most constitutional monarchies employ a parliamentary system in which the monarch may have strictly ceremonial duties or may have reserve powers, depending on the constitution. (Carried out by the governor general in Jamaica, the queen’s representative.) Embedded in the constitutional monarchy is a prime minister, who is the head of government and exercises political power. Election for prime minister and other members of parliament is carried out every five years.

DID YOU KNOW?

Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a king or queen acts as head of state.

The ability to make and pass legislation resides with an elected parliament, not solely with the monarch’s representative.

As a system of government, constitutional monarchy separates the head of state’s ceremonial and official duties from party politics.

A constitutional monarchy also provides stability, continuity and a national focus, as the head of state remains the same even as governments change.

As a constitutional monarch, the sovereign must, therefore, remain politically neutral.

On almost all matters, the sovereign acts on the advice of the prime minister and his advisers. However, the sovereign retains an important political role as head of state, formally appointing prime ministers, approving certain legislation and bestowing honours. The sovereign has other official roles to play, such as head of the armed forces.

REPUBLICANISM

Republicanism is the ideology embraced by members of a republic: a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president. In this form of government, leaders are elected for a specific period.

Trinidad and Tobago is a republic with a twoparty system and a bicameral parliamentary system based on the Westminster system. The head of state of Trinidad and Tobago is the president. The head of government is the prime minister. The president, who is the head of state, is elected by an electoral college consisting of the full membership of both houses of parliament. The prime minister is elected from the results of a general election which takes place every five years. The president is required to appoint the leader of the party who, in his or her opinion, has the most support of the members of the House of Representatives to this post. This has generally been the leader of the party which won the most seats in the election.

In Trinidad and Tobago, the president is a titular head and not an executive head. He is the head of state, but is only a ceremonial leader. A titular head is someone who is the official leader or ruler of a country without enjoying the power or the authority of the leader or the ruler.

“Writing laws is easy, but governing is difficult.” – Leo Tolstoy