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General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands in 1773. [1]
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| Judiciary |
| Administrative divisions |
| Foreign relations |
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands in 1773. [1]
A petition by residents of the Virgin Islands for the creation of a constitution or a judicial system was made to the British government in 1756, but was rejected. A second attempt was made in 1773, and granted by royal prerogative. [2] In June 1773 Governor Ralph Payne was ordered to issue the writs for an election. [3] He subsequently proclaimed the establishment of a legislature on 30 November. [4]
A new House of Assembly was created, with 11 elected members. Eight were elected in Tortola, two in Virgin Gorda and one in Jost Van Dyke. [4] The right to vote was restricted to white men owning at least 10 acres of land or property worth at least £10. Candidacy was restricted to white men over the age of 21 who owned at least 40 acres of land or property worth £40, or to sons of men owning 80 acres of land or a property worth at least £80. [4] Candidates had to be residents of the constituency that they ran for election in. [4]
In addition to the House of Assembly, a 12-member Legislative Council, also known as the Board, was created, which was appointed by the Governor. [4]
The newly elected House of Assembly met for the first time on 1 February 1774. [5]
Politics of the United States Virgin Islands takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic dependency, whereby the Governor is the head of the territory's government, and of a multi-party system. United States Virgin Islands are an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs of the United States Department of the Interior. Executive power is exercised by the local government of the Virgin Islands. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums. In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vote is called active suffrage, as distinct from passive suffrage, which is the right to stand for election. The combination of active and passive suffrage is sometimes called full suffrage.
The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.
Elections in the British Virgin Islands are conducted to elect members to the House of Assembly. In the British Virgin Islands elections are not conducted in relation to appointments to either the Executive or Judicial branches of Government, and there are no other publicly elected posts in the British Virgin Islands. Most elections are conducted as general elections, which under the Constitution are required to be held every four years, or as by-elections when a member of the House of Assembly dies or steps down. Since the re-introduction of democracy into the British Virgin Islands in 1950 there have been fifteen general elections, and three recorded by-elections. The last election was held on 25 February 2019.
The House of Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. The house has 36 Members of Parliament (MPs), elected for a term of five years in single seat constituencies using first-past-the-post voting. Bermuda now has universal voting with a voting age of 18 years. Voting is non-compulsory. The presiding officer of the House is called the Speaker.
The House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands, until 2007 known as the Legislative Council, has 15 members: 13 directly elected for four-year terms, and two ex officio members.
In common with most Caribbean countries, slavery in the British Virgin Islands forms a major part of the history of the Territory. One commentator has gone so far as to say: "One of the most important aspects of the History of the British Virgin Islands is slavery."
In practice, basic human rights in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) appear to be respected. Reports of repression of freedom of speech, interference with democracy or the rule of law, and arbitrary arrest and torture are generally non-existent. The BVI have been described as "generally free of human rights abuses".
The Cabinet of the British Virgin Islands is the collective decision-making body of the British Virgin Islands government. It is composed of the Premier, four other Ministers of Government, and the Attorney General as an ex officio, non-voting, member. The Governor attends and presides over meetings of Cabinet where possible. The Cabinet has responsibility for the formulation of policy, including directing the implementation of such policy, insofar as it relates to every aspect of government, except those matters for which are reserved to the Governor under the Constitution. The Cabinet is collectively responsible to the House of Assembly for such policies and their implementation.
Assembly elections were held in the British Virgin Islands in 1735.
A property qualification is a clause or rule by which those without property (land), or those without property of a set appraised value, or those without income of a set value, are not enfranchised to vote in elections, to stand for election, to hold office or from other activities.
General elections were held in Fiji on 31 August 1932, although only one of the nine elected seats was contested.
General elections were held in Fiji in July 1937, the first in which an equal number of Europeans and Indo-Fijians were elected.
General elections were held in Fiji on 20 July 1940.
General elections were held in Fiji on 29 July 1944. The term of the Legislative Council elected in 1940 was due to end in 1943, but was extended by a year by the Governor.
General elections were held in Fiji in September 1947. Voting took place in the Northern and Western and Southern constituencies on 20 September, with voting in the Eastern constituency carried out between 15 and 22 September.
General elections were held in Fiji in August 1950. Voting took place in most locations on 26 August, and in the Lau and Lomaiviti Islands between 21 and 28 August.
General elections were held in Fiji on 29 August 1953.
General elections were held in Fiji in August 1956; voting took place in the Eastern constituencies between 11 and 18 August, and on 18 August in all other constituencies.
General elections were held in Fiji in September 1959, the last in which women and ethnic Fijians were still barred from voting. Voting took place in the Eastern constituencies between 5 and 12 September, and in the Northern and Western and Southern constituencies on 12 September.
