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 Caribbean Political Parties
A political party is a political organization subscribing to a certain ideology or formed around very special issues with the aim to participate in power, usually by participating in elections.
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Lesson

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.
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Lesson

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 Learn More 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.

bullet Anguilla Country Profile
     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)
bullet Antigua and Barbuda Visti Our Election Site (visit our Election 2009 site) Country Profile
     Antigua Labour Party (ALP)
     Barbuda Independence Movement
     Barbuda National party
     Barbuda People's Movement (BPM)
     New Barbuda Development Movement
     United Progressive Party (UPP)

bullet Aruba

Country Profile
     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)
bullet The Bahamas Country Profile
     Coalition of Democratic Reform (CDR)
     Free National Movement (FNM)
     Progressive Liberal Party (PLP)
     Bahamas Democratic Movement (BDM)
bullet Barbados Visti Our Election Site (visit our Election 2008 site) Country Profile
     Democratic Labour Party (DLP)
     Barbados Labour Party (BLP)
bullet Belize Country Profile

     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)

bullet Bermuda Country Profile
     National Liberal Party of Bermuda (NLP)
     Progressive Labour Party (PLP)
     United Bermuda Party (UBP)
bullet British Virgin Islands Country Profile

   National Democratic Party
   Virgin Islands Party

bullet Cayman Islands Country Profile
     United Democratic Party (UDP)
     People's Progressive Movement (PPM)
bullet Cuba Country Profile
     Partido Comunista de Cuba
bullet Comonwealth of Dominica Country Profile
     Dominica Freedom Party (DFP)
     Dominica United Workers' Party (UWP)
     Labour Party of Dominica (LPD)
bullet Dominican Republic Country Profile
     Partido de la Liberación Dominicana (PLD)
     Partido Reformista Social Cristiano (PRSC)
     Partido Revolucionario Dominicana (PRD)
     Unidad Democrática (UD)
bullet Grenada Visti Our Election Site (visit our Election 2008 site) Country Profile
     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
bullet Guadeloupe Country Profile
     Parti Communiste Guadeloupien (PCG)
     Parti Progressiste Démocratique Guadeloupien
     Parti Socialiste-Indépendants (PS-Ind)
bullet Cooperative Republic of Guyana Country Profile
     People’s Progressive Party (PPP/Civic)
     People’s National Congress (PNC)
     United Force (UF)
     Working People's Alliance (WPA)
bullet Haiti Country Profile
     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
bullet Jamaica Country Profile
     Jamaican Labour Party (JLP)
     People's National Party (PNP)
     National Democratic Movement (NDM)
     Natural Law Party

bullet Martinique

Country Profile
     Mouvement pour l'indépendance de la Martinique
     Parti Communiste Martiniquais (PCM)
     Parti Progressiste Martiniquais (PPM)
bullet Montserrat Country Profile
     Movement for National Reconstruction (MNR)
     National Progressive Party (NPP)
     People's Progressive Alliance (PPA)
bullet Netherlands Antilles Country Profile
     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

bullet Puerto Rico Country Profile

     New Progressive Party
     Popular Democratic Party
     Puerto Rican Independence Party

bullet St. Kitts and Nevis Visti Our Election Site (visit our Election 2009 site) Country Profile
     St. Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP)
     People’s Action Movement (PAM)
     Nevis Reformation Party (NRP)
     Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM)
bullet St. Lucia Country Profile
     St. Lucia labour Party (SLP)
     United Workers Party (UWP)
     National Alliance (NA)
     Reform Party
bullet St. Vincent and the Grenadines Visti Our Election Site (visit our Election 2010 site) Country Profile
     New Democratic Party (NDP)
     Unity Labour Party (ULP)
     St. Vincent and the Grenedines Green Party

     People's Progressive Movement (PPM)
     People's Working Party
bullet Suriname Country Profile

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”.

Visit our election website This link provides additional information on the various coalitions.

bullet Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Country Profile

     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)

bullet Turks and Caicos Islands Country Profile
     People's Democratic Movement (PDM)
     Progressive National Party (PNP)
bullet United States Virgin Islands Country Profile
     Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM)
     United Party (UP)
     Virgin Islands Party (VIP)
 TOPICS
 Democracy and Citizenship
 Democracy
 Citizenship
 Understanding Government
 Heads of Government
 The Electoral Process and Politics
 Democratic Electoral Systems
 Caribbean Electoral Systems
 Politics: The Basics
 Caribbean Political Parties
 Women in Politics
 Regionalism
 West Indies Federation
 Caribbean Free Trade Area
 Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
 CARICOM Single Market and Economy
 Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
 GENERAL RESOURCES
 Books on Caribbean Politics
 Glossary of Election Terms
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