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Saint Lucia is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy governed by a prime minister and a cabinet, which represent the majority party in the lower house of the bicameral Parliament. Queen Elizabeth II appoints a governor general who has some residual powers under the Constitution. In generally free and fair elections in 2001, Prime Minister Kenny Anthony's Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) retained power, winning 14 seats in the 17-member House of Assembly. The judiciary is independent. The Royal Saint Lucia Police numbers 704 officers and includes a 35-officer Special Services Unit, which had some paramilitary training, and a coast guard unit. The civilian authorities maintained effective control of the security forces. There were occasional allegations that members of the security forces committed human rights abuses. The country has a market-based economy dominated by tourism, trade, communications, and transport. The population was approximately 160,000. Economic growth was 3.4 percent during the year, and inflation was estimated at approximately 2 percent. Unemployment at the end of 2003 was 19.7 percent. The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in a few areas. There were some allegations of physical abuse of suspects and prisoners by the police; long delays in trials and sentencing, domestic violence against women, and child abuse also were problems.