According to the
Constitution of Barbados, the Parliament shall stand dissolved no later than every five years from the first
sitting of Parliament. The
previous general elections were held on 24 May 2018, and the first sitting of the new session of Parliament was held on 5 June 2018. After the
dissolution of Parliament, the
President of Barbados must issue a
writ for a general election of members to the
House of Assembly and for appointment of Senators to the
Senate within 90 days. Despite a commanding 29–1 BLP majority in the House of Assembly and elections not being required until 2023, on 27 December 2021
Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that an early election would be held on 19 January the following year. Mottley's announcement came within a month of the country
becoming a republic. She described the election as a "refuelling stop" for the nation, On 30 December 2021
Joseph Atherley, who served as the official Leader of the Opposition of the House of Assembly and leader of the
People's Party for Democracy and Development, announced an alliance with the
United Progressive Party for the election under the name
Alliance Party for Progress (APP). Early voting was held for police officers and election day workers on 12 January. On 18 January, Philip Catlyn, a member of the Barbados Sovereignty Party (BSP), filed for an injunction against the President and the Attorney General to stop the election. He argued that the
home isolation requirements for those testing positive for
COVID-19 would prevent close to 5,000 people from voting. Barbados does not allow absentee voting. After hearing the legal arguments, High Court justice Cicely Chase dismissed the case as being out of her jurisdiction. She said that the case should have been filed in an election court. ==Electoral system==