To preserve and protect individual rights and freedoms, a democratic people must work together to shape the government of their choosing. And the principal way of doing that is through political parties.

• Political parties are voluntary organizations that link the people and their government. Parties recruit candidates and campaign to elect them to public office, and they mobilize people to participate in selecting government leaders.
• The majority party (or the party elected to control the offices of government) seeks to enact into law a number of different policies and programs. Parties of the opposition are free to criticize the majority party's policy ideas and offer their own proposals.
• Political parties provide a way for citizens to hold elected party officials accountable for their actions in government.
• Democratic political parties have faith in the principles of democracy so that they recognize and respect the authority of the elected government even when their party leaders are not in power.
• Like any democracy, members of various political parties reflect the diversity of the cultures in which they arise. Some are small and built around a set of political beliefs. Others are organized around economic interests, or shared history. Still others are loose alliances of different citizens who may only come together at election time.
• All democratic political parties, whether they are small movements or large national coalitions, share the values of compromise and tolerance. They know that only through broad alliances and cooperation with other political parties and organizations can they provide the leadership and common vision that will win the support of the people of the nation.
• Democratic parties recognize that political views are fluid and changeable, and that consensus can often arise out of the clash of ideas and values in peaceful, free, and public debate.
• The concept of the loyal opposition is central to any democracy. It means that all sides in political debate – however deep their differences – share the fundamental democratic values of freedom of speech and faith, and equal protection under law. Parties that lose elections step into the role of opposition – confident that the political system will continue to protect their right to organize and speak out. In time, their party will have a chance to campaign again for its ideas, and the votes of the people.
• In a democracy, the struggle between political parties is not a fight for survival, but a competition to serve the people.

In this section we have included a list of some of the major political parties throughout the Caribbean. You can click on the appropriate link to go directly to our elections-related site for that country. You can also click on the flag of each country to obtain more detailed information on the country from our companion site, EducationCaribbean.com.

Anguilla
Anguilla Democratic Party (ADP)      Anguilla for Good Government (AGG)      Anguilla National Alliance (ANA)      Anguilla United Party (AUP)      Anguilla United Movement (AUM)      Anguilla Patriotic Movement (APM)
Antigua and Barbuda (visit our Election 2009 site)
Antigua Labour Party (ALP)      Barbuda Independence Movement      Barbuda National party      Barbuda People's Movement (BPM)      New Barbuda Development Movement      United Progressive Party (UPP)
Aruba
Arubaanse Volks Partij (AVP)      Movimiento Electoral di Pueblo (MEP)      Organisacion Liberal Arubano (OLA)      Partido Patriotico Arubano (PPA)      Conscientisacion pa Liberacion di Aruba (CLA)      Accion Democratico Nacional (ADN)      Partido pa un Aruba Restructura Awor (PARA)      Movimiento Aruba Solidario (MAS)
The Bahamas
Coalition of Democratic Reform (CDR)      Free National Movement (FNM)      Progressive Liberal Party (PLP)      Bahamas Democratic Movement (BDM)
Barbados (visit our Election 2008 site)
Democratic Labour Party (DLP)      Barbados Labour Party (BLP)
Belize
People's United Party (PUP)      United Democratic Party (UDP)      National Alliance for Belizean Rights (NABR)      National Reform Party (NRP)      People's National Party (PNP)      Vision Inspired by the People (VIP)      We the People Reform Movement (WTP)
Bermuda
National Liberal Party of Bermuda (NLP)      Progressive Labour Party (PLP)      United Bermuda Party (UBP)
British Virgin Islands
National Democratic Party    Virgin Islands Party
Cayman Islands
United Democratic Party (UDP)      People's Progressive Movement (PPM)
Cuba
Partido Comunista de Cuba
Comonwealth of Dominica
Dominica Freedom Party (DFP)      Dominica United Workers' Party (UWP)      Labour Party of Dominica (LPD)
Dominican Republic
Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD)      Partido Reformista Social Cristiano (PRSC)      Partido Revolucionario Dominicana (PRD)      Unidad Democrática (UD)
Grenada (visit our Election 2008 site)
Democratic Labor Party (DLP)      Grenada Progressive Party      Grenada United Labour Party (GULP)      Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement (MBPM)      National Democratic Congress (NDC)      New National Party (NNP)      The National Party (TNP)      United Labor Congress
Guadeloupe
Parti Communiste Guadeloupien (PCG)      Parti Progressiste Démocratique Guadeloupien      Parti Socialiste-Indépendants (PS-Ind)
Cooperative Republic of Guyana
People’s Progressive Party (PPP/Civic)      People’s National Congress (PNC)      United Force (UF)      Working People's Alliance (WPA)
Haiti
Front National pour Changement et Démocratie      Parti Kongrè Nasyonal Mouvman      Demokratic Yo      Mouvman Konbit Nasyonal      Parti National Progressiste Rèvolutionnaire      Rassemblement Dèmocratique Chrètien d'Haïti      Fanmi Lavalas
Jamaica
Jamaican Labour Party (JLP)      People's National Party (PNP)      National Democratic Movement (NDM)      Natural Law Party
Martinique
Mouvement pour l'indépendance de la Martinique      Parti Communiste Martiniquais (PCM)      Parti Progressiste Martiniquais (PPM)
Montserrat
Movement for National Reconstruction (MNR)      National Progressive Party (NPP)      People's Progressive Alliance (PPA)
Netherlands Antilles
Curaçao           C93           Democratic Party (Democratische Partij)           Forsa Kòrsou           Labour Party People's Crusade (Partido Laboral Krusada Popular)           LPNA (Lista Niun Paso Atras)           National People's Party (Partido Nashonal di Pueblo)           New Antilles Movement (Movishon Antia Nobo)           Party for the Restructured Antilles (Partido Antiá Restrukturá)           Party Workers' Liberation Front 30th of May (Frente Obrero Liberashon 30                Di Mei 1969)           Sovereign People (Pueblo Soberano)      Sint Maarten            Democratic Party Sint Maarten (Democratische Partij Sint Maarten)            National Alliance            Sint Maarten Patriotic Alliance            National Progressive Party            People's Progressive Alliance      Bonaire           Bonaire Patriotic Union (Union Patriotico Bonairano)            Bonaire Democratic Party (Partido Democratico Bonairano)            Bonaire Social Party (Partido Boneriano Sosial)      Sint Eustatius           Democratic Party      Saba           Windwards Islands People's Movement
Puerto Rico
New Progressive Party      Popular Democratic Party      Puerto Rican Independence Party
St. Kitts and Nevis (visit our Election 2009 site)
St. Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP)      People’s Action Movement (PAM)      Nevis Reformation Party (NRP)      Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM)
St. Lucia
St. Lucia labour Party (SLP)      United Workers Party (UWP)      National Alliance (NA)      Reform Party
St. Vincent and the Grenadines (visit our Election 2010 site)
New Democratic Party (NDP)      Unity Labour Party (ULP)      St. Vincent and the Grenedines Green Party      People's Progressive Movement (PPM)      People's Working Party
Suriname
In Suriname there are 24 registered political parties. Only those parties who can show that they have the support of 1% of the Surinamese voters, will receive permission from the Independent Electoral Office to participate in an election. In order to meet the 1% demand, most parties will form “pre-election coalitions”. This link provides additional information on the various coalitions.
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
United National Congress (UNC)      People's National Movement (PNM)      National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR)      National Joint Action Committee (NJAC)      New National Democratic Organization (NNDO)      People's Empowerment Party (PEP)
Turks and Caicos Islands
People's Democratic Movement (PDM)      Progressive National Party (PNP)
United States Virgin Islands
Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM)      United Party (UP)      Virgin Islands Party (VIP)