Here are a few useful definitions.

Abstain: MPs might abstain in a vote. This means that they are voting neither for nor against a motion. There is a special button on their desk if they wish to abstain during a vote.

Amend: To change or improve something: for example, a piece of legislation.

Amendment: A change proposed to a motion, a bill or committee report with the intention of improving it or providing an alternative.

Backbencher: A Member of Parliament who is not a minister and does not sit on the front benches reserved for Cabinet ministers or for opposition party officials.

Ballot Box: A receptacle for voters' ballots.

Bicameral: A legislature which has two separate chambers. In Barbados, they are the Senate and the House of Assembly. The two Chambers may or may not have equal privileges and powers, but are quite distinct from each other. This bicameral system has a significant impact on the way Parliament works.

Bill: A set of proposals that might become a law, if Parliament agrees to it.

By-election: A special election held to fill the seat of Parliament who has died or resigned.

Cabinet: The group of senior ministers in a government.

Campaign: Competition by rival political candidates and organizations for public office.

Candidate: A person running for office in an election.

Caucus: A group composed of all Senators and Members of Parliament from the same political party. Private caucus meetings are held regularly.

Chair: The presiding officer at a meeting of the House or a committee.

Civil Servants: People who work for the Government. They are expected to be neutral, in other words not do anything that favours one Party over another.

Coalition: An arrangement between more than one political party/group. This would usually happen when no party wins more than half of the seats in the Parliament.

Constituency: A geographical district from which a Member of Parliament is elected. For example the House of Assembly in Barbados is comprised of 30 MPs, each from a single-seat constituency; whereas there are 15 elected members to the House of Representatives in Grenada.

Constituent: A person having the right to vote or elect; any of the voters represented by a particular official.

Constitution: The set of basic rules by which a country or state is governed.

Debate: A discussion in which the arguments for and against a subject are presented according to specific rules.

Democracy: A system of government by the whole population, usually through elected representatives; a state so governed; any organisation governed on democratic principles; an egalitarian and tolerant form of society.

Dissolution: The bringing to an end of a Parliament, either at the conclusion of its five-year term or by proclamation of the Governor General. It is followed by a general election.

Electorate: The collective name given to all the people who have the right to vote.

Elections: These are used to pick the people in charge of our country. Everyone over the age of 18 usually gets the chance to vote in an election.

Exit Poll: A poll taken of a small percentage of voters as they leave the polls, used to forecast the outcome of an election or determine the reasons for voting decisions.

Filibuster: The use of long speeches or other tactics in Parliament to delay deliberately a vote or decision.

First past the post: A system of direct election by which members of Parliament win their seats by garnering a plurality of votes. The system is criticised by those who contend it locks out parties that win a significant percentage of the total vote but fall short of a plurality. Find out more about Types of Electoral Systems»

Gerrymander: The dividing of a state, county, etc., into election districts so as to give one political party a majority in many districts while concentrating the voting strength of the other party into as few districts as possible.

Grassroots: The involvement of common citizens in an issue or campaign.

House of Assembly: The name of the lower house of Parliament in Barbados.

House of Representatives: The name of the lower house of Parliament in Grenada.

Ideology: An ideology is a set of ideas about how the country should be run. Each Party in the Parliament has its own ideology. This will help them to decide about the policies that they want the Parliament to put into place.

Incumbent: A person currently in office.

Independent: A voter or candidate who does not belong to a political party.

Landslide: An election in which a particular victorious candidate or party receives an overwhelming mass or majority of votes.

Laws: These are rules deciding what can and can't be done in a country. If you break the law, you may be punished in some way.

Leader of the Opposition: The leader of the party or coalition of parties which is the next largest after the government party in the Parliament, and which is made up of members who do not support the government.

Legislation: The process of making new laws.

Lobbyist: Lobbyists are individuals and groups who actively communicate with federal public office holders in an attempt to influence Government decisions.

Manifesto: A formal statement of political beliefs and objectives presented by a party to the electorate. Manifestos have traditionally been a lynchpin of party politics in the Caribbean.

MP: Member of Parliament. In common usage the term refers to a person elected to a seat in parliament.

Minority Government: A government formed by a party or coalition of parties which does not have a majority in the country's Parliament in its own right.

Motion: A statement or argument that has to be debated and voted upon in the Chamber.

Nominee: The person chosen by a political party to serve as its representative in a general election.

Non-partisan: An idea or person that does not support a specific party, cause, or candidate.

Opposition: The party or parties and independent members who do not belong to the governing party. The role of the opposition is to provide knowledgeable criticism of the Government and propose ways to improve its policies and legislation.

Parliament: A Parliament is a group of elected representatives that debates and decides upon new laws.

Partisan: A supporter of a person, group, party, or cause, especially a person who shows a biased, emotional allegiance.

Party: A group of persons with common political opinions and purposes, organized for gaining political influence and governmental control, and for directing government policy.

Policies: These are the ideas and proposals that the different parties have for changing things that they don't like, or improving things they are in favour of.

Poll: A sampling or collection of opinions on a subject. Also, the place where people vote.

Pollster: A person whose occupation is the taking of public-opinion polls.

Portfolio: The term used to describe the responsibilities of a member of Cabinet. For example, the portfolio of the Minister of Finance includes responsibility for the Department of Finance and the annual budget.

Pressure groups: These are organisations that want to change policy. They focus on particular issues.

Prime Minister: The leader of the party in power and the head of the Government.

Private Member: A Member of Parliament who is not a Cabinet Minister, the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker or a Parliamentary Secretary.

Privy Council: A formal advisory body to the Crown appointed by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister. All Cabinet members must be sworn to the Privy Council, to which they are named for life.

Proportional Representation: This is a way of counting the votes in an election. Under proportional representation, the number of MPs each Party ends up with in the Parliament is closely linked to the percentage of votes they got in the election.

Prorogue: Prorogation ends a session of Parliament, but does not dissolve Parliament. The Governor General prorogues Parliament at the request of the Prime Minister. Any bills that have not been passed by the time Parliament is prorogued will have to be reintroduced in the next session. All committee work ceases with prorogation as well.

Public Gallery: The seats on the balcony of the main Chamber where the public can sit and watch what's happening.

Referendum: A referendum is held when the Government wants to find out what everybody in the country thinks about a particular subject.

Rights and Responsibilities: In a democracy, everyone has rights (things you are free to do) and responsibilities (things you are expected to do), e.g. you have the right to vote in an election, but you have the responsibility to accept the choice of the majority; you have the right to drive a car, but you have the responsibility to pass a test first.

Shadow Cabinet: The leadership of the opposition, poised to take the reins of government and its ministries in the event elections are called and lost by the ruling majority party. Shadow cabinets operate in a manner akin to a government in exile, formulating policies they are not empowered to enact - but that might become law if they were elected.

Session: One of the fundamental time periods into which a Parliament is divided, usually consisting of a number of separate sittings. Sessions are begun by a Speech from the Throne and are ended by prorogation or dissolution.

Sitting: A meeting of parliament within a session. Although usually a calendar day, a sitting may last for only a matter of minutes or may extend over several days.

Speaker: The Member who is elected by Parliament as its presiding officer.

Spin: The presentation of information that is biased to favor the candidates. Advisors to the candidates may engage in 'spin' in their communications to the media.

Table: To place a document before parliament or a committee for consideration or consultation.

Unicameral: Consisting of one chamber or house, especially of a law-making body.

Vote:
(a) The way citizens choose a representative in an election.
(n) The process Senators and MPs use to make a decision.

Voter Turnout: The number of people who actually vote on the day of the election. This is usually expressed as a percentage of the electorate.

Writs (for an election): Formal orders, issued by the Governor-General in the requiring that an election be held.