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All 13 elected seats in the House of Assembly 7 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Turnout | 64.64% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Judiciary |
Administrative divisions |
Foreign relations |
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.
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]
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]
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.
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.
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]
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]
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]
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.
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Party | District | At-large | Total seats | +/– | |||||
Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
Virgin Islands Party | 4,855 | 50.30 | 4 | 17,441 | 45.60 | 4 | 8 | 6 | |
National Democratic Party | 2,701 | 27.98 | 3 | 10,798 | 28.23 | 0 | 3 | –8 | |
Progressive Virgin Islands Movement | 1,188 | 12.31 | 1 | 7,126 | 18.63 | 0 | 1 | New | |
Progressives United | 571 | 5.92 | 1 | 1,279 | 3.34 | 0 | 1 | New | |
Independents | 338 | 3.50 | 0 | 1,607 | 4.20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Speaker and Attorney General | 2 | 0 | |||||||
Total | 9,653 | 100.00 | 9 | 38,251 | 100.00 | 4 | 15 | 0 | |
Valid votes | 9,653 | 99.31 | 38,251 | 98.38 | |||||
Invalid/blank votes | 67 | 0.69 | 629 | 1.62 | |||||
Total votes | 9,720 | 100.00 | 38,880 | 100.00 | |||||
Registered voters/turnout | 15,038 | 64.64 | |||||||
Source: Election Centre |
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Andrew Fahie | Virgin Islands Party | 742 | 81.45 | |
Sylvia C. Romney-Moses | Progressive Virgin Islands Movement | 141 | 15.48 | |
Stephanie A. Brewley | Progressives United | 28 | 3.07 | |
Total | 911 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 911 | 99.45 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 5 | 0.55 | ||
Total votes | 916 | 100.00 |
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%).
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Melvin Mitchell Turnbull | Progressive Virgin Islands Movement | 550 | 54.19 | |
Carnel Clyne | Virgin Islands Party | 465 | 45.81 | |
Total | 1,015 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 1,015 | 99.12 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 9 | 0.88 | ||
Total votes | 1,024 | 100.00 |
Incumbent Melvin Turnbull retained his seat after switching parties to join the PVIM, defeating political newcomer Carnel Clyne (VIP).
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Julian Fraser | Progressives United | 519 | 47.10 | |
Aaron F. Parillon | National Democratic Party | 294 | 26.68 | |
Arlene Smith-Thompson | Virgin Islands Party | 289 | 26.23 | |
Total | 1,102 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 1,102 | 99.64 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 4 | 0.36 | ||
Total votes | 1,106 | 100.00 |
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.
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Vanterpool | National Democratic Party | 442 | 49.72 | |
Luce Hodge-Smith | Virgin Islands Party | 385 | 43.31 | |
Karl Marcus Scatliffe | Progressive Virgin Islands Movement | 38 | 4.27 | |
Vincent Gregory Scatliffe | Progressives United | 24 | 2.70 | |
Total | 889 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 889 | 98.67 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 12 | 1.33 | ||
Total votes | 901 | 100.00 |
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.
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kye Rymer | Virgin Islands Party | 638 | 51.53 | |
Wade Noel Smith | Progressive Virgin Islands Movement | 396 | 31.99 | |
Elvis Jerome Harrigan | National Democratic Party | 204 | 16.48 | |
Total | 1,238 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 1,238 | 98.96 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 13 | 1.04 | ||
Total votes | 1,251 | 100.00 |
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).
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alvera Maduro-Caines | National Democratic Party | 575 | 51.85 | |
John M. Samue | Virgin Islands Party | 534 | 48.15 | |
Total | 1,109 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 1,109 | 99.11 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 10 | 0.89 | ||
Total votes | 1,119 | 100.00 |
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]
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Natalio Wheatley | Virgin Islands Party | 384 | 44.76 | |
Kedrick Pickering | Independent | 338 | 39.39 | |
Hipolito Diego Penn | National Democratic Party | 136 | 15.85 | |
Total | 858 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 858 | 99.08 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 8 | 0.92 | ||
Total votes | 866 | 100.00 |
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.
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Marlon A. Penn | National Democratic Party | 726 | 57.94 | |
Dean B. Fahie | Virgin Islands Party | 527 | 42.06 | |
Total | 1,253 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 1,253 | 99.68 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 4 | 0.32 | ||
Total votes | 1,257 | 100.00 |
Marlon Penn (NDP) won his third consecutive contest, comfortably defeating Dean Fahie (VIP) who was standing for election for the first time.
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vincent Wheatley | Virgin Islands Party | 891 | 69.72 | |
Hubert O'Neal | National Democratic Party | 324 | 25.35 | |
Jose de Castro | Progressive Virgin Islands Movement | 63 | 4.93 | |
Total | 1,278 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 1,278 | 99.84 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 2 | 0.16 | ||
Total votes | 1,280 | 100.00 |
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.
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sharie De Castro | Virgin Islands Party | 4,778 | 12.49 | |
Neville Smith | Virgin Islands Party | 4,694 | 12.27 | |
Shereen Flax-Charles | Virgin Islands Party | 4,033 | 10.54 | |
Carvin Malone | Virgin Islands Party | 3,936 | 10.29 | |
Myron Walwyn | National Democratic Party | 3,335 | 8.72 | |
Henry Osmond Creque | National Democratic Party | 2,799 | 7.32 | |
Ronnie W. Skelton | Progressive Virgin Islands Movement | 2,639 | 6.90 | |
Sandy Michelle Harrigan-Underhil | National Democratic Party | 2,418 | 6.32 | |
Trefor Arvid Grant | National Democratic Party | 2,246 | 5.87 | |
Shaina Mary Ann Smith | Progressive Virgin Islands Movement | 1,805 | 4.72 | |
Curnal Pedrito Fahie | Progressive Virgin Islands Movement | 1,619 | 4.23 | |
Dancia Penn | Independent | 1,607 | 4.20 | |
Lesmore Smith | Progressive Virgin Islands Movement | 1,063 | 2.78 | |
Dirk Laurence Walters | Progressives United | 769 | 2.01 | |
Verna Veronica Smith | Progressives United | 278 | 0.73 | |
Rajah Smith | Progressives United | 232 | 0.61 | |
Total | 38,251 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 38,251 | 98.38 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 629 | 1.62 | ||
Total votes | 38,880 | 100.00 |
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).
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.
Party | Votes | %age | Leader | Votes | %age |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
VIP | 1,518 | 51.7% | Andrew Fahie | 1,485 | 47.8% |
NDP | 831 | 28.3% | Myron Walwyn | 896 | 28.8% |
PVIM | 485 | 16.5% | Ronnie Skelton | 557 | 17.9% |
PU | 101 | 3.5% | Julian Fraser | 169 | 5.4% |
Total: | 2,935 | 100.0% | Total: | 3,107 | 100.0% |
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.
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]
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.
Office | Members | Notes |
---|---|---|
Premier | Andrew Fahie | Minister of Finance |
Governor | Augustus Jaspert | |
Ministers | Carvin Malone | Ministry of Telecommunications, Health & Welfare |
Natalio Wheatley | Ministry of Education, Culture, Agriculture, Fisheries, Sports & Youth Affairs | |
Kye Rymer | Minister of Transportation, Works & Utilities | |
Vincent Wheatley | Ministry of Natural Resources, Labour & Immigration | |
Attorney General | Baba Aziz | Ex-officio, non-voting |
Cabinet Secretary | Sandra Ward |
In addition, Shereen Flax-Charles was appointed a junior minister for tourism.
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]
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 National Democratic Party is a political party in the British Virgin Islands. In the 2019 general election the NDP was voted out of office; it most recently held power after winning the 2015 general election.
The Virgin Islands Party (VIP) is a political party in the British Virgin Islands. It is presently led by Natalio Wheatley. It is the oldest active political party in the British Virgin Islands, and it has won seven general elections, more than any other political party in the British Virgin Islands.
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 20 August 2007. The result was a landslide victory for the opposition Virgin Islands Party (VIP) over the incumbent National Democratic Party (NDP).
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 17 May 1999. The result was a victory for the incumbent Virgin Islands Party (VIP) led by Chief Minister Ralph T. O'Neal over the newly formed National Democratic Party (NDP) led by Orlando Smith.
Politics of the British Virgin Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the Premier is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. The British Virgin Islands are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the islands on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories. The Constitution of the Islands was introduced in 1971 and amended in 1979, 1982, 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2007. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the House of Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Military defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 7 November 2011. The result was a decisive victory for the opposition National Democratic Party (NDP) led by Orlando Smith over the incumbent Virgin Islands Party (VIP), led by Premier Ralph T. O'Neal. No minor parties or independent candidates won any seats.
Julian Fraser is a British Virgin Islander politician who formerly belonged to the opposition Virgin Islands Party in the British Virgin Islands, and in August 2018 formed a new party, Progressives United.
The People's Empowerment Party is a defunct political party in the British Virgin Islands, led by former House of Assembly member for the second district Alvin Christopher. Mr Christopher has previously been elected as a representative of the Virgin Islands Party, the National Democratic Party and as an independent. It has no elected representatives and may now be defunct.
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 8 June 2015 to elect members to the House of Assembly. The result was a landslide victory for the incumbent National Democratic Party (NDP) over the opposition Virgin Islands Party (VIP). No minor parties or independent candidates won any seats. Unusually, every single incumbent candidate who stood in their original seat was victorious.
J. Alvin Christopher, is a politician who presently serves as leader of the People's Empowerment Party in the British Virgin Islands. He is not currently a member of the House of Assembly, but was the longstanding elected member for the second district, a position which he held from the 1995 general election until the 2015 general election.
The Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest political party in the House of Assembly that is not in government.
There are presently five principal British Virgin Islands news websites publishing news focused upon current affairs in the Territory:
Andrew Alturo Fahie is a British Virgin Islands politician who served as Premier of the British Virgin Islands from 2019 to 2022. He was also the chairman of the Virgin Islands Party in the British Virgin Islands from 2016 to 2022. He was convicted of a range of charges relating to conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States in 2024.
Events from the year 2018 in the British Virgin Islands.
Events from the year 2019 in the British Virgin Islands.
The Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM) is a political party in the British Virgin Islands. It is presently led by Ronnie Skelton.
Events from the year 2022 in the British Virgin Islands.
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 24 April 2023. The governing Virgin Islands Party (VIP) remained the largest party in the House of Assembly but lost its majority resulting in a hung parliament.