2018 Barbadian general election

2018 Barbadian general election

← 2013 24 May 2018 2022 →
30 seats in the House of Assembly 16 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	59.56% (2.46pp)
First party   Leader Mia Mottley Party BLP Last election 48.22%, 14 seats Seats won 30 Seat change 16 Popular vote 112,955 Percentage 73.47% Swing 25.25pp
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election Freundel Stuart DLP Elected Prime Minister Mia Mottley BLP

Politics of Barbados
Constitution Human rights
Executive President (list) Dame Sandra Mason Prime Minister (list) Mia Mottley Cabinet Ministries
Legislature House of Assembly Speaker: Arthur Holder Senate President: Reginald Farley Leader Opposition Leader: Bishop Joseph J. S. Atherley Legislation
Judiciary Caribbean Court of Justice Supreme Court Chief Justice: Marston Gibson Court of Appeal High Court Magistrates courts Barbados law Human rights
Elections Recent elections General: 2018 2022 Next Presidential: 2021 Constituencies Political parties
Administrative divisions Parishes Parliamentary constituencies Constituency Councils
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and International Business Minister: Kerrie Symmonds Diplomatic missions of / in Barbados Nationality law Passport Visa requirements Visa policy
Historical Treaty of Oistins Monarchy Governor-General Judicial Committee of the Privy Council Colonial Barbados Governor Colonial Secretary Council of Barbados Executive Council Legislative Council Local government (Vestry system) Mayor of Bridgetown Bridgetown City Council
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General elections were held in Barbados on 24 May 2018.^[1] The result was a landslide victory for the opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP), which won all 30 seats in the House of Assembly,^[2] resulting in BLP leader Mia Mottley becoming the country's first female Prime Minister. The BLP's victory was the first time a party had won every seat in the House of Assembly. Previously, the most one-sided result for a Barbadian election had been in 1999, when the BLP won 26 of the 28 seats. The BLP's 73.5 percent vote share was also the highest on record.

The ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) led by Freundel Stuart lost all 16 seats,^[2] the worst defeat of a sitting government in Barbadian history. The DLP saw its vote share more than halve compared to the previous elections in 2013, with only one of its candidates receiving more than 40 percent of the vote. Stuart was defeated in his own constituency, receiving only 26.7 percent of the vote,^[3] the second time a sitting Prime Minister had lost their own seat. It was also the first time since independence that the constituency of St John, a traditionally DLP stronghold, was won by the BLP.^[4]

The election was fought primarily on the DLP's stewardship of the economy during its decade in power. The government had had to contend with numerous downgrades of its credit rating due to fallout from the global financial crisis. The BLP criticised the DLP over rising taxes and a declining standard of living, and promised numerous infrastructure upgrades if elected.^[3]