2019 British Virgin Islands general election

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2019 British Virgin Islands general election
Flag of the British Virgin Islands.svg
←  2015 25 February 2019 2023  →
All 13 elected seats in the House of Assembly
7 seats needed for a majority
Turnout64.64%
 First partySecond party
  Andrew Fahie.png Myron Walwyn.png
Leader Andrew Fahie Myron Walwyn
Party VIP NDP
Last election2 seats11 seats
Seats won83
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 6Decrease2.svg 8
 Third partyFourth party
  JulianFraser.jpg Ronnie Skelton.png
Leader Julian Fraser Ronnie Skelton
Party PU PVIM
Last election––
Seats won11
Seat changeNewNew
2019 British Virgin Islands House of Assembly Election.svg
Premier before election

Orlando Smith
National Democratic Party

Premier after election

Andrew Fahie
Virgin Islands Party

General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 25 February 2019. [1] For the first time, four parties with at least one incumbent member were contesting an election.

Contents

The result was a decisive victory for the Virgin Islands Party, which won eight of the 13 elected seats. The ruling National Democratic Party won only three seats, with party leader Myron Walwyn losing his seat. [2] Seven of the thirteen seats were won by candidates contesting an election for the first time, all for the Virgin Islands Party, a territorial record.

The elections were the first in the British Virgin Islands to use electronically tabulated voting rather that manual counts. [3] Voter turnout was 64.64%.

Election monitors reported that they saw "no real evidence of corruption", but highlighted a large influx of voter registrations in Districts 5 and 8 which had been regarded in some quarters as potential attempt to manipulate results. [4]

Background

The House of Assembly normally sits in four-year terms. The Governor must dissolve the House within four years of the date when the House first meets after a general election unless it has been dissolved sooner. [5] Once the House is dissolved a general election must be held after at least 21 days, but not more than two months after the dissolution of the House. The third session of the House of Assembly first met on 23 June 2015, [6] and therefore in the ordinary course of things the latest possible date of the next British Virgin Islands general election would have been one day short of four years and two months after that date, i.e. on 22 August 2019.

However, Delores Christopher, member of the House of Assembly representing the 5th District died on 16 October 2018. [7] There was broad agreement that it was undesirable to hold two elections so close together (a by-election to appoint a new representative for the 5th District, followed by a general election). Accordingly, after taking legal advice and consulting with the Premier Orlando Smith the Governor, Augustus Jaspert, advised that it had been agreed that no separate by-election should be held, and the election would be held on or before 16 April 2019. [8]

The House of Assembly was dissolved on 23 January 2019 and an election date was immediately announced for 25 February 2019. [1]

Electoral system

The House of Assembly has a total of 15 members, 13 of whom are members elected by the public to serve a four-year term, plus two ex-officio non-voting members: the Attorney General and the Speaker of the House. Of the 13 elected members, nine are elected via first-past-the-post voting to represent territorial district seats, and four are elected on a territory-wide "at-large" basis via plurality block voting.

New leaders and new parties

Both of the main political parties which had contested the prior election had leadership contests, and in both cases the person who lost the leadership contest left to form their own party. Accordingly, in the 2019 election, there were an unprecedented four different political parties with at least one sitting member contesting the general election.

National Democratic Party

In June 2018 the Premier and leader of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Orlando Smith indicated he would be stepping down and not contesting the next general election. [9] In the subsequent leadership contest the party chose Education Minister Myron Walwyn to lead the party into the next election. [10]

In the wake of Dr Smith's announced retirement, rumours of splits within the ruling National Democratic Party began to circulate almost immediately. [11] Eventually Ronnie Skelton, runner up in the leadership contest, left to form his own political party, [12] named the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM). [13] [14]

Deputy Premier, Kedrick Pickering, also left the party to run as an independent. [15]

Second District Representative Melvin "Mitch" Turnbull also left the NDP to join Skelton, [16] as did at-large representative, Archie Christian. [17] Certain media houses began to sarcastically refer to the PVIM as "NDP 2". [18]

Virgin Islands Party

The Virgin Islands Party (VIP) also had a leadership contest, and the sitting leader, Julian Fraser, was ousted by the challenger, Andrew Fahie. Fraser subsequently announced he would leave the VIP and set up his own party, which he called Progressives United (PU). [19] [20]

Controversies

Myron Walwyn Eligibility Issue

In the run up to the election there were repeated suggestions in the press that Myron Walwyn was not eligible for election to the House of Assembly because his parents are not from the BVI. His father is from Nevis and his mother is from Antigua. [21] [22] Leader of the opposition Virgin Islands Party, Andrew Fahie, distanced himself from questions about Walwyn's eligibility. [23]

Speaker of the House Issue

Some controversy arose when leaked lists of candidates suggested that the speaker of the House, Ingrid Moses-Scatliffe, was to stand as an NDP candidate. [24] A number of public figures, the most prominent being Deputy Premier Kedrick Pickering, expressed concern at her being held out as a candidate for a political party whilst occupying the position of Speaker of the House. [25] Ms Moses-Scatliffe refused to confirm or deny that she would be a candidate for the NDP, and the Attorney General rendered an opinion indicating that even if she were, this would not legally preclude her from acting as Speaker of the House in the interim. Ultimately she was not named as a candidate.

Results

Iles Vierges britanniques Assemblee 2019.svg
PartyDistrictAt-largeTotal
seats		+/–
Votes%SeatsVotes%Seats
Virgin Islands Party 4,85550.30417,44145.60486
National Democratic Party 2,70127.98310,79828.2303–8
Progressive Virgin Islands Movement 1,18812.3117,12618.6301New
Progressives United5715.9211,2793.3401New
Independents3383.5001,6074.20000
Speaker and Attorney General20
Total9,653100.00938,251100.004150
Valid votes9,65399.3138,25198.38
Invalid/blank votes670.696291.62
Total votes9,720100.0038,880100.00
Registered voters/turnout15,03864.64
Source: Election Centre

Territorial seats

Winning candidates are highlighted in blue. [2] Previously incumbent candidates are marked in bold.

2019 general election results - 1st District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Andrew Fahie VIP74281.45%
Sylvia MosesPVIM14115.48%
Stephanie BrewleyPU283.07%
Rejected5
Total916100.00%
Turnout: 60.38%

Incumbent Andrew Fahie (VIP) easily won his sixth consecutive election over his two challengers each contesting their first. District 1 had the lowest turnout of any district with 60.38% of voters participating. Fahie's victory was the highest in terms of margin of votes (601) and the percentage of votes cast (81.45%).

2019 general election results - 2nd District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Melvin Turnbull Jr.PVIM55054.19%
Carnel ClyneVIP46545.81%
Rejected9
Total1,024100.00%
Turnout: 65.14%

Incumbent Melvin Turnbull retained his seat after switching parties to join the PVIM, defeating political newcomer Carnel Clyne (VIP).

2019 general election results - 3rd District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Julian Fraser PU51947.10%
Aaron ParillonNDP29426.68%
Arlene Smith-ThompsonVIP28926.22%
Rejected4
Total1,106100.00%
Turnout: 64.79%

Incumbent Julian Fraser won his sixth election but his first as the leader of the PU after leaving the VIP. He has never lost an election in his 3rd district stronghold. His opponents, Aaron Parillon (NDP) and Arlene Smith-Thompson (VIP) were each contesting their first election.

2019 general election results - 4th District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Mark VanterpoolNDP44249.72%
Luce Hodge-SmithVIP38543.31%
Carl ScatliffePVIM384.27%
Vincent ScatliffePU242.70%
Rejected12
Total901100.00%
Turnout: 66.59%

Incumbent Mark Vanterpool (NDP) won his fifth election in six contests, narrowly holding off newcomer Luce Hodge-Smith. District 4 had the highest proportion of spoiled ballots of any district.

2019 general election results - 5th District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Kye Rymer VIP63851.53%
Wade SmithPVIM39631.99%
Elvis HarriganNDP20416.48%
Rejected13
Total1,251100.00%
Turnout: 63.57%

Incumbent Delores Christopher died prior to the election leaving the seat vacant. Newcomer Kye Rymer (VIP) overcame fellow newcomer Wade Smith (PVIM) and political veteran Elvis "Juggy" Harrigan (NDP), who was contesting his fifth election (including once as an at-large candidate).

2019 general election results - 6th District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Alvera Maduro-Caines NDP57551.85%
John SamuelVIP53448.15%
Rejected10
Total1,119100.00%
Turnout: 61.72%

Incumbent Alvera Maduro-Caines (NDP) won her third consecutive election narrowly defeating newcomer John Samuel (VIP). Less than a year after the election Maduro-Caines would "cross the floor" to join the VIP. [26]

2019 general election results - 7th District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Natalio Wheatley VIP38444.76%
Kedrick Pickering Independent33839.39%
Hipolito PennNDP13615.85%
Rejected8
Total866100.00%
Turnout: 62.53%

Incumbent Kedrick Pickering running as an independent in his fifth election, having won his previous four contests, lost to Natalio Wheatley who was contesting his third-ever general election for a third different party. The same seat was formerly held by Wheatley's grandfather, former Chief Minister, Willard Wheatley.

2019 general election results - 8th District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Marlon Penn NDP72657.94%
Dean FahieVIP52742.06%
Rejected4
Total1,257100.00%
Turnout: 70.74%

Marlon Penn (NDP) won his third consecutive contest, comfortably defeating Dean Fahie (VIP) who was standing for election for the first time.

2019 general election results - 9th District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Vincent WheatleyVIP89169.72%
Hubert O'NealNDP32425.35%
Jose DeCastroPVIM634.93%
Rejected2
Total1,280100.00%
Turnout: 71.03%

Political newcomer Vincent Wheatley (VIP) easily defeated incumbent Hubert O'Neal (NDP) who was contesting his seventh general election (having won only once previously, in 2015). District 9 had the highest turnout of any district with 71.03% of voters participating. Wheatley's 891 votes were the highest total of any district candidate.

At-large seats

2019 general election candidates - at large
CandidatePartyVotes%
Sharie de CastroVIP4,77812.49%
Neville SmithVIP4,69412.27%
Shereen Flax-CharlesVIP4,03310.54%
Carvin MaloneVIP3,93610.29%
Myron Walwyn NDP3,3358.72%
Henry CrequeNDP2,7997.32%
Ronnie SkeltonPVIM2,6396.90%
Sandy UnderhillNDP2,4186.32%
Trefor GrantNDP2,2465.87%
Shaina SmithPVIM1,8054.72%
Curnal FahiePVIM1,6194.23%
Dancia Penn Independent1,6074.20%
Lesmore SmithPVIM1,0632.78%
Dirk WaltersPU7692.01%
Verna SmithPU2780.73%
Rajah SmithPU2320.61%
Rejected629
Total:38,880100.00%

The VIP candidates won all four of the at-large seats. Each of them other than Sharie DeCastro (contesting her second election, after being unsuccessful in 2015), were standing for election for the first time.

Incumbents Myron Walwyn and Ronnie Skelton were not returned (the two other previous incumbents, Orlando Smith and Archie Christian, did not run).

Pre-election polling

Although no formal or scientific polls were conducted in the Territory, an unofficial online poll was conducted by VI Platinum News which suggested that a majority of voters prefer the Virgin Islands Party, and a plurality of voters prefer Andrew Fahie as leader. [27] However the highly fragmented outcome of the polling (which does not include independents) pointed to the possibility of a coalition government.

PartyVotes%ageLeaderVotes%age
VIP1,51851.7%Andrew Fahie1,48547.8%
NDP83128.3%Myron Walwyn89628.8%
PVIM48516.5%Ronnie Skelton55717.9%
PU1013.5%Julian Fraser1695.4%
Total:2,935100.0%Total:3,107100.0%

Although unscientific, previous polls have correctly predicted the outcome of past elections. [27] In this election the final results were also relatively similar to the informal advance polls, each party polling within 2.5% (the normal margin of error on a scientific poll) of the predicted result.

Manifestos

Myriad political promises were made and publicised by each party. Manifestos for each political party were launched before the election date of 25 February 2019 as follows: [28]

Government

As the leader of the party with a majority, Andrew Fahie was appointed Premier and invited to form a government.

In appointing his Cabinet, Fahie reshuffled various ministerial portfolios from the traditional division of responsibilities. Unusually, every member of Cabinet except for Fahie himself is a political newcomer entering the House of Assembly for the first time.

Cabinet of the British Virgin Islands [38]
OfficeMembersNotes
Premier Andrew Fahie Minister of Finance
Governor Augustus Jaspert
MinistersCarvin MaloneMinistry of Telecommunications, Health & Welfare
Natalio WheatleyMinistry of Education, Culture, Agriculture, Fisheries, Sports & Youth Affairs
Kye RymerMinister of Transportation, Works & Utilities
Vincent WheatleyMinistry of Natural Resources, Labour & Immigration
Attorney General Baba AzizEx-officio, non-voting
Cabinet SecretarySandra Ward

In addition, Shereen Flax-Charles was appointed a junior minister for tourism.

Subsequent events

Following the shock defeat of Myron Walwyn, Marlon Penn was appointed Leader of the Opposition. [39] After initially prevaricating, Walwyn confirmed that he would not be quitting politics. [40]

As is customary, the opposition pledged to work with the new government. [41]

Eight days after the election, the successful District 4 candidate and former Cabinet Minister, Mark Vanterpool shocked the country by announcing he was resigning from politics and stepping down from his seat. [42] He subsequently withdrew his resignation and alleged it was invalid as it was sent to the Cabinet Secretary and not the Speaker of the House as required by the Constitution. [43] The Speaker has insisted that the seat is vacant, but in subsequent legal proceedings the court eventually ruled in favour of Mr Vanterpool. [44]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 "Election day February 25!". BVI News. 23 January 2019.
  2. 1 2 "Election results, VIP wins! Walwyn not elected". BVI News. 25 February 2019.
  3. ↑ Claire Shefchik (5 October 2018). "E-voting to be used in next election". BVI Beacon.
  4. ↑ "Voters relocated, flocked select districts to 'manipulate' results, Election Observers suspect". BVI News. 28 February 2019.
  5. ↑ "Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007, article 84(3)" (PDF). Government of the Virgin Islands. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Official Swearing-In Of House Of Assembly Speaker And Members". Government of the Virgin Islands. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "Delores Christopher Passes Away". BVI Platinum. 16 October 2018. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  8. ↑ "Statement by His Excellency the Governor on Election in the Virgin Islands". Government of the Virgin Islands. 15 November 2018.
  9. ↑ "Premier not seeking re-election as NDP leader". BVI News. 19 June 2018.
  10. ↑ "Walwyn elected as NDP leader, Penn new party VP". BVI News. 23 June 2018.
  11. ↑ "An NDP in pieces". BVI News. 5 November 2018.
  12. ↑ "Skelton Begins Recruiting For New Party". BVI Platinum. 2 October 2018.
  13. ↑ "Facts about the so-called Skelton political party". BVI News. 13 November 2018.
  14. ↑ "By-Elections? Fifth district told to register, party's recruit candidates". BVI News. 13 November 2018.
  15. ↑ "Pickering running independent? Launches campaign February 12". BVI News. 1 February 2019.
  16. ↑ "Mitch Resigns From Gov't". BVI Platinum. 16 November 2018.
  17. ↑ "Christian Is With Skelton; Intends To Remain Junior Minister". BVI Platinum. 15 November 2018.
  18. ↑ "PVIM-NDP 2 launches Wade N. Smith for District 5". Virgin Islands News Online. 12 January 2019.
  19. ↑ "Hon Julian Fraser launches new party: 'Progressives United'". Virgin Islands News Online. 24 August 2018.
  20. ↑ "Fraser's Party Officially Registered". BVI Platinum. 20 November 2018.
  21. ↑ "'Unfortunate' : Walwyn responds to eligibility witch-hunt". BVI News. 19 July 2018.
  22. ↑ "Group of citizens hire Attorney to challenge election qualifications". Virgin Islands News Online. 31 July 2018.
  23. ↑ "Walwyn's Eligibility Is An NDP Fight, Not VIP--Fahie". BVI Platinum. 4 July 2018.
  24. ↑ "Are these the NDP's pick for elections?". BVI News. 14 September 2018.
  25. ↑ "Pickering Outs Speaker Over NDP Candidacy; "It's An Abuse"". BVI Platinum. 20 September 2018.
  26. ↑ "Alvera Maduro-Caines joins the VIP! Fahie is a productive leader". BVI News. 20 January 2020.
  27. 1 2 "Andrew Fahie, VIP Favoured--Poll". BVI Platinum. 4 February 2019.
  28. ↑ "British Virgin Islands Political Party Manifestos". Caribbean Elections. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  29. ↑ "PVIM releases 'business plan' for VI". 18 January 2019.
  30. ↑ "Locals will get scholarships for masters degrees, PhDs under my administration". BVI News. 15 January 2019.
  31. ↑ "$10M To Help Local Businesses—Walwyn Promises". BVI Platinum. 22 January 2019.
  32. ↑ "PVIM Promises Bonus & Increased Tax Break". BVI Platinum. 12 January 2019. Archived from the original on 13 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  33. ↑ "Underground gambling booming: PVIM proposes gaming zone to boost visitor nightlife". BVI News. 29 January 2019.
  34. ↑ "Progressive plans: Free legal services, elderly healthcare, lunches under Fraser regime". BVI News. 12 January 2019.
  35. ↑ "I Will Add American Black History To Curriculum". BVI Platinum. 22 January 2019.
  36. ↑ "VIP promises 'district councils', reduced imported labour, whistleblowing law". BVI News. 17 January 2019.
  37. ↑ "Fahie Promises Legislation To Boost Local Food Production". BVI Platinum. 28 January 2019.
  38. ↑ "Ministers unofficially announced, restructure of gov't reported". BVI News. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  39. ↑ "Marlon Penn sworn in as Opposition Leader". BVI News. 28 February 2019.
  40. ↑ "I Am Not Quitting". BVI Platinum. 2 March 2019.
  41. ↑ "New NDP Opposition Makes Call For Peace With VIP". BVI Platinum. 4 March 2019.
  42. ↑ "Mark Vanterpool Retires!". BVI Platinum. 5 March 2019.
  43. ↑ "Resignation letter was invalid, I'm coming out of retirement for the people". BVI News. 14 March 2019.
  44. ↑ "Court saw Willock's bias, says Vanterpool on D4 victory". BVI News. 2 May 2019.
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