The prime minister, usually the leader of the majority party in Parliament, is appointed as head of government by the governor general, who represents the British monarch as the largely ceremonial head of state. Philip Pierre was chosen as prime minister following the 2021 parliamentary elections.

The bicameral Parliament consists of the 18-seat House of Assembly, with 17 members directly elected to five-year terms and a speaker elected by the members, and the 11-seat Senate, whose members are appointed. The prime minister chooses 6 senators, the opposition leader selects 3, and 2 are chosen in consultation with civic and religious organizations.

In the 2021 House of Assembly elections, the St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) won over 50 percent of the vote and secured 13 seats, defeating the incumbent UWP. Voter turnout was 51 percent.

Electoral laws are generally fair and applied impartially by the Electoral Commission. However, differences in the sizes of constituencies have resulted in unequal voting power among citizens. According to 2016 enrollment data from the St. Lucia Electoral Department, 20,600 voters were enrolled in the country’s largest constituency, Gros Islet, while only 5,000 were enrolled in Dennery South, the country’s smallest. Constituency boundaries were last redrawn in 2001.

After the 2021 elections, the Commonwealth Observer Group criticized the outdated voters’ registry, noting that the Electoral Commission had not consistently removed deceased and ineligible people from the roll since 1979. Further, they noted that arrangements were not made for some groups of eligible voters to cast ballots, specifically those in quarantine or on remand. The Organization of American States observer mission highlighted the absence of campaign finance laws and raised concerns that the lack of oversight and accountability in the financing of politics impacts the equity and transparency of elections.

Political parties may organize and operate freely. Several small parties operate, though the SLP and UWP have dominated politics since the 1960s, aided in part by the country’s first-past-the-post electoral system. Campaigns are financed entirely through private funds, which can also disadvantage new and small parties.

The country has a long record of democratic transfers of power, with the SLP and UWP regularly alternating in government.

Voters and candidates are generally free to make political choices without undue influence. However, there are few regulations addressing funding for or spending by candidates and parties, raising concerns about the potential for improper influence by unaccountable foreign and domestic interests.

All citizens are formally entitled to equal political rights and electoral opportunities. Some 85 percent of the population is of African descent, while Afro-European, East Indian, and other minorities are present.

Women are underrepresented in politics, with only two women serving in the House of Assembly. However, five women sit in the appointed Senate, and a woman became that chamber’s president in 2022. More women have recently assumed roles as electoral officials and within party structures.

LGBT+ individuals are marginalized, affecting their ability to engage fully in political processes.

The elected prime minister, cabinet, and Parliament determine the policies of the government without improper interference from unelected entities.

Several state institutions are responsible for combating corruption, including the parliamentary commissioner, the auditor general, and the Public Service Commission. However, their effectiveness is somewhat limited by a lack of resources. The Special Prosecutor Act, which took effect in 2022, empowers a special prosecutor to initiate civil or criminal proceedings against public officials accused of corruption. A special prosecutor was appointed in November 2023.

In 2018, an Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report criticized the operation of the country’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program, and St. Lucia made several improvements in response. In 2022, Investment Minister Ernest Hilaire said that the government was reviewing the country’s CBI program to bolster its competitiveness but vowed that it would rigorously vet applicants. In October 2023, the European Union (EU) raised concerns about the security implications of CBI programs in St. Lucia and four other Caribbean countries. The EU reported that the countries sold 88,000 “golden passports” to individuals from Iran, Russia, and elsewhere, and subsequently promised to revise its rules on visa-free travel.

The government generally operates transparently. Access to information is guaranteed, and government officials are required to declare their financial assets to the Integrity Commission. However, the commission lacks the enforcement powers necessary to ensure full compliance.

The constitution guarantees freedom of expression and communication, and press freedom is largely upheld in practice. A number of private and independent news outlets carry content on a range of issues.

While civil libel suits are more common than criminal ones, criminal libel laws remain on the books, with convictions potentially drawing heavy fines and a jail sentence of up to five years.

Freedom of religion is protected under the constitution and other laws, and these safeguards are largely upheld in practice. However, Rastafarians face some systemic disadvantages in practicing their beliefs, and Muslims have reported occasional harassment.

Academic freedom is generally respected.

There are no significant restrictions on individuals’ ability to express their personal views on political or other sensitive topics.

The government generally respects the constitutionally protected right to free assembly.

Independent nongovernmental organizations are free to form and operate.

Most workers have the legal right to form and join independent unions, strike, and bargain collectively. Antiunion discrimination is prohibited.

The judicial system is independent and includes a high court under the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC). Judges are appointed through an impartial Judicial and Legal Services Commission.

In May 2023, St. Lucia became a full member of the Caribbean Court of Justice, which replaced the London-based Privy Council as the final court of appeal. The opposition UWP criticized the level of consultation that preceded the decision to join the court, and said that a referendum should have been held on the matter.

Detainees and defendants are guaranteed a range of legal rights, which are mostly respected in practice. However, police corruption is a concern. Court backlogs contribute to lengthy pretrial detention. As of 2022, 61 percent of prisoners were either pretrial detainees or on remand.

The population is mostly free from pervasive threats to physical security. However, violent crime, which Prime Minister Pierre referred to as “the monster in the room,” remained a major concern in 2023. There were 75 homicides during the year, almost matching the record high of 76 in 2022. The country has a homicide rate of approximately 40 per 100,000 people, which is one of the highest in the Caribbean. A range of initiatives were adopted to address the problem in 2023, including granting the Royal St. Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) emergency powers.

St. Lucia has called on the Regional Security System (RSS), a security initiative that includes St. Lucia and several other Caribbean states, to support law enforcement efforts. Personnel associated with the RSS were deployed to St. Lucia in both 2022 and 2023.

Police brutality has been seen as a significant problem in St. Lucia. Members of the RSLPF are perceived to enjoy impunity for abusive behavior. The United States cut aid to the RSLPF over allegations related to extrajudicial killings in 2013, and later renewed security cooperation and assistance with some RSLPF units in 2021. The RSLPF participated in a US military–led regional joint exercise in 2022, the first time it had done so since 2012. It did so again in 2023.

While discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, and other such grounds is generally prohibited, the law does not provide full protection to LGBT+ people. The labor code prohibits dismissal of employees based on sexual orientation. Under an ECSC directive, murders motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation can be punished with a life sentence. However, LGBT+ people face significant societal prejudice. Same-sex relations can be punished by up to 10 years in prison, though this criminal-code provision is reportedly not enforced.

Rastafarians face societal disadvantages due to their beliefs, and Muslims have reported harassment.

There are no serious impediments to freedom of movement in St. Lucia, and individuals are generally free to change their place of residence, employment, or education.

The legal and regulatory framework is supportive of property rights and private business activity. The government has actively encouraged investors to do business in the country.

The law largely guarantees individual rights with respect to personal status issues like marriage and divorce, but the civil code distinguishes between “legitimate” and “illegitimate” children, which can lead to discrimination against unmarried women and their children in civil and family law cases.

Domestic and gender-based violence are serious concerns and often go unreported. In 2022, Parliament passed the Domestic Violence Act, which addresses physical, emotional, and financial forms of abuse. It also prohibits authorities and those providing services to victims of domestic violence from discriminating against survivors on a variety of grounds, including sex, marital status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. The impact that the Domestic Violence Act will have is not yet clear.

Safety rules and other protections against worker exploitation are typically upheld. While the government has made increased efforts to combat human trafficking, investigations and prosecutions are rare. Authorities in St. Lucia have never convicted anyone of trafficking.