The House of Assembly of Barbados is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. It has 30 Members of Parliament (MPs), who are directly elected in single member constituencies using the simple-majority (or first-past-the-post) system for a term of five years. The House of Assembly sits roughly 40–45 days a year and is presided over by a Speaker.
The Barbadian House of Assembly chamber is located in the east-wing of The Public Buildings on Broad Street, in Bridgetown, Barbados.
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The Parliament of Barbados is the national legislature of Barbados. It is accorded legislative supremacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. The Parliament is bicameral in composition and is formally made up of two houses, an appointed Senate (Upper house) and an elected House of Assembly (Lower house), as well as the president of Barbados who is indirectly elected by both. Both houses sit in separate chambers in the Parliament Buildings (commonly known as "The Public Buildings"), in the national capital Bridgetown in Saint Michael.
The Senate is made up of twenty-one Senators, while the House consists of thirty Members of Parliament (MPs) in addition to the Honourable Speaker of the House. Members to serve in the Cabinet of Barbados may be chosen by the Prime Minister from either the House of Assembly or Senate, (the Prime Minister alone who must be chosen by the President must come from the House of Assembly.)
The Senate of Barbados is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Barbados. The Senate is accorded legitimacy by Chapter V of the Constitution of Barbados. It is the smaller of the two chambers. The Senate was established in 1964 to replace a prior body known as the Legislative Council. Besides creating and reviewing Barbadian legislation, the Senate generally reviews approved legislation originating from the House of Assembly (Lower House). One main constraint on the Senate is that it cannot author monetary or budget-related bills. Most of the non-political appointees to the Senate have been selected by the President of Barbados, from civil society organisations, labour collectives and public associations in Barbados. Prior to Barbados becoming a republic on the 30 November 2021, these functions were performed by the Governor-General, who was the viceroy of the Monarchy of Barbados which has since been abolished.
According to the Constitution of Barbados, 7 are chosen at the President's sole discretion, 12 on the advice of the Prime Minister and 2 on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition. In the absence of an opposition leader, the president appoints 2 extra senators bringing the total amount of independents to 9. The Senate sits for 20 to 25 days a year. The term of the Senate, and the House of Assembly, is five years; both chambers are dissolved before each election.
The Cabinet are individuals of Barbados which execute the duties of the Government of Barbados.Under a Parliamentary republic, these powers are vested nominally by the president of Barbados, but are exercised in practice by a cabinet ministers, presided over by the prime minister of Barbados. The prime minister is formally appointed by the president: the president must appoint, as prime minister, someone who can control a majority of votes in the House of Assembly. In practice, this is normally the leader of the largest political party or coalition in the house. When there is no clear majority, the president assumes the role of arbitrator and opens negotiations with the leaders of the various political parties, in the hope of finding someone whom a majority will accept as prime minister. In the event of that failing to take place, the president must dissolve the House of Assembly and call an early election.