Barbados is a parliamentary democracy. According to the Commonwealth Local Government Forum the eleven parishes are divided into thirty electoral districts each composed of a constituency council (CC) with local representatives chosen by the central government in charge of representing the concerns of the constituency’s residents, maintain relations with the central government and manage the resources assigned.

The constituency councils consist of eleven persons a chairperson and a treasurer, which are recommended by a committee of senior civil servants to the minister who ultimately makes the selection. Normally the persons elected are the ones that have community experience and are representative of interest groups. The CC cannot collect or raise revenue they only receive restricted transfer from the central government and have the capacity to manage these resources.