1971 Barbadian general election

Last updated

1971 Barbadian general election
Flag of Barbados.svg
  1966 9 September 1971 1976  

24 seats in the House of Assembly
13 seats needed for a majority
Turnout81.62% (Increase2.svg1.92pp)
 First partySecond party
  Errol Barrow 1968 - 2.png Harold St. John.png
Leader Errol Barrow Bernard St. John
Party DLP BLP
Last election14 seats8 seats
Seats won186
Seat changeIncrease2.svg4Decrease2.svg2
Popular vote53,29539,376
Percentage57.40%42.41%
SwingIncrease2.svg7.84ppIncrease2.svg9.81pp

1971 Barbadian general election.svg
Results by constituency

Prime Minister before election

Errol Barrow
DLP

Elected Prime Minister

Errol Barrow
DLP

General elections were held in Barbados on 9 September 1971. [1] Amendments to the electoral system saw the two-member constituencies previously used replaced by single-member first-past-the-post constituencies. [2] This was also the first election in modern Barbadian history to be contested by only two political parties, not including two independent candidates. [3]

Contents

The result was a victory for the Democratic Labour Party, which won 18 of the 24 seats. Despite achieving a larger increase in vote share than its opponent, the Barbados Labour Party lost two seats and its leader, Harold Bernard St. John, was defeated in his constituency of Christ Church South Central. [4] Voter turnout was 81.6%, the highest in the country's history. [1]

Results

House of Assembly of Barbados, 1971.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Democratic Labour Party 53,29557.4018+4
Barbados Labour Party 39,37642.416–2
Independents1740.1900
Total92,845100.00240
Valid votes92,84598.75
Invalid/blank votes1,1741.25
Total votes94,019100.00
Registered voters/turnout115,18981.62
Source: Nohlen

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's National Party</span> Jamaican centre-left political party

The People's National Party (PNP) is a social-democratic political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by Norman Washington Manley who served as party president until his death in 1969. It holds 14 of the 63 seats in the House of Representatives, as 96 of the 227 local government divisions. The party is democratic socialist by constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owen Arthur</span> Barbadian politician (1949–2020)

Owen Seymour Arthur, PC was a Barbadian politician who served as the fifth prime minister of Barbados from 6 September 1994 to 15 January 2008. He is the longest-serving Barbadian prime minister to date. He also served as Leader of the Opposition from 1 August 1993 to 6 September 1994 and from 23 October 2010 to 21 February 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Labour Party (Barbados)</span> Political party in Barbados

The Democratic Labour Party (DLP), colloquially known as the "Dems", is a political party in Barbados, established in 1955. It was the ruling party from 15 January 2008 to 24 May 2018 but faced an electoral wipeout in the 2018 general election which left it with no MPs.

The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party (PNP). While its name might suggest that it is a social democratic party, the JLP is actually a conservative party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1999 Barbadian general election</span> Election in Barbados

General elections were held in Barbados on 20 January 1999. The result was a landslide victory for the Barbados Labour Party led by Owen Arthur, which won 26 of the 28 seats. The opposition Democratic Labour Party led by David Thompson, only won two seats. Voter turnout was 63.4%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1994 Barbadian general election</span> Election in Barbados

Early general elections were held in Barbados on 6 September 1994. The result was a victory for the opposition Barbados Labour Party, which won 19 of the 28 seats, with its leader Owen Arthur becoming Prime Minister. The ruling Democratic Labour Party led by David Thompson was reduced to only eight seats. The National Democratic Party became the first third party to win a seat since the Barbados National Party in 1966, with NDP leader, Richard Haynes, winning St. Michael South Central. Voter turnout was 60.9%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1991 Barbadian general election</span> Election in Barbados

General elections were held in Barbados on 22 January 1991 to elect all 28 members (MPs) of the House of Assembly of Barbados. The result was a victory for the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP), which won 18 of the 28 seats. The opposition Barbados Labour Party led by Henry Forde won ten seats, an increase of seven compared to the 1986 elections. Voter turnout was 63.7%. DLP leader Lloyd Erskine Sandiford remained Prime Minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 Barbadian general election</span> Election in Barbados

General elections were held in Barbados on 28 May 1986. The result was a landslide victory for the Democratic Labour Party, which won 24 of the 27 seats. Among the Barbados Labour Party MPs who lost their seats was incumbent Prime Minister Harold Bernard St. John. The Workers Party of Barbados contested the elections for the first and only time, the only occasion on which a communist party contested an election in Barbados. Voter turnout was 77%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 Barbadian general election</span> Election in Barbados

General elections were held in Barbados on 18 June 1981. The result was a victory for the ruling Barbados Labour Party, which won 17 of the 27 seats. Voter turnout was 71.6%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 Barbadian general election</span>

General elections were held in Barbados on 2 September 1976. The result was a victory for the Barbados Labour Party, which won 17 of the 24 seats, defeating the ruling Democratic Labour Party and returning to power for the first time since 1961. This was the first and only election contested by the newly formed People's Political Alliance, whose eight candidates won only 572 votes. Voter turnout was 74.1%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1966 Barbadian general election</span> Election in Barbados

General elections were held in Barbados on 3 November 1966. This election was the last contested using two-member constituencies, in which each voter had two votes. The result was a victory for the Democratic Labour Party, which won 14 of the 24 seats. This was the last election contested by the Barbados National Party. Once a powerful force in Barbados politics, the party stood only four candidates and was reduced to two seats; the BNP formally disbanded in 1970. Voter turnout was 79.7%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Grenadian general election</span> General elections in Grenada held on 8 July 2008

General elections were held in Grenada on 8 July 2008. Out of a total of fifteen seats, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) won eleven seats and the governing New National Party (NNP) won four, bringing the NDC to power for the first time since 1995. The NNP was looking for a fourth consecutive term in power, which would have been a first in Grenadian history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mia Mottley</span> Prime Minister of Barbados since 2018

Mia Amor Mottley, is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold either position. She is also Barbados' first prime minister under its republican system, following constitutional changes she introduced that abolished the country's constitutional monarchy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1951 Barbadian general election</span> Election in Barbados

General elections were held in Barbados on 13 December 1951, the first held under universal suffrage. The result was a victory for the Barbados Labour Party, which won 15 of the 24 seats. Voter turnout was 64.6%. Edna Ermyntrude Bourne, elected in the Parish of St. Andrew, became the island's first female member of the House of Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1956 Barbadian general election</span> Election in Barbados

General elections were held in Barbados on 7 December 1956. The result was a victory for the Barbados Labour Party, which won 15 of the 24 seats. MPs were elected across twelve two-member constituencies, using the block vote method. Voter turnout was 60.3%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1961 Barbadian general election</span> Election in Barbados

General elections were held in Barbados on 4 December 1961. They were the first held after Barbados was granted full self-government earlier in the year. 24 MPs were elected across twelve two-member constituencies, using the block vote method.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1958 West Indies federal elections</span> Election in the West Indies Federation

Federal elections were held in the West Indies Federation for the first and only time on 25 March 1958. The result was a victory for the West Indies Federal Labour Party, which won 25 of the 45 seats in the House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Barbadian general election</span>

General elections were held in Barbados on 24 May 2018. The result was a landslide victory for the opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP), which won all 30 seats in the House of Assembly, resulting in BLP leader Mia Mottley becoming the country's first female Prime Minister. The BLP's victory was the first time a party had won every seat in the House of Assembly. Previously, the most one-sided result for a Barbadian election had been in 1999, when the BLP won 26 of the 28 seats. The BLP's 73.5 percent vote share was also the highest on record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Antiguan general election</span>

General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 18 January 2023 to elect members of the House of Representatives. The Labour Party (ABLP) has held an absolute majority of 15 seats in the House of Representatives after the 2018 general election, with Gaston Browne remaining as prime minister. Browne initiated a constitutional referendum after the 2018 election, which was rejected by voters, and following the death of Elizabeth II in 2022, he announced his intention to organise a referendum for the transition of Antigua and Barbuda to a republican system. Besides ABLP, the United Progressive Party (UPP), Democratic National Alliance, Barbuda People's Movement (BPM), and three independent politicians filed candidacies for the 2023 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Barbadian general election</span>

General elections were held in Barbados on 19 January 2022 to elect the 30 members of the House of Assembly. The ruling Barbados Labour Party won all 30 seats for the second consecutive election.

References

  1. 1 2 Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p90 ISBN   978-0-19-928357-6
  2. Nohlen, p92
  3. "Barbados General Election Results - 9 September 1971". Caribbean Elections. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  4. Caribbean Elections