Bermudian general election, 1968

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General elections were held in Bermuda on 22 May 1968. [1] The result was a victory for the United Bermuda Party, which won 30 of the 40 seats in the House of Assembly. [1] The Progressive Labour Party increased its representation by four to ten.

Bermuda British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 1,070 km (665 mi) east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina; 1,236 km (768 mi) south of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia; and 1,759 km (1,093 mi) northeast of Cuba. The capital city is Hamilton. Bermuda is self-governing, with its own constitution and its own government, which enacts local laws, while the United Kingdom retains responsibility for defence and foreign relations. As of July 2018, its population is 71,176, the highest of the British overseas territories.

The United Bermuda Party (UBP) was a political party in Bermuda, which represented itself as centrist party with a moderate social and fiscal agenda. The party held power in Bermuda's House of Assembly continuously from 1968 to 1998, the 47-year-old party was wound up on 30 June 2011 after the majority of its members joined the One Bermuda Alliance.

House of Assembly of Bermuda

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.

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On 10 June 1968, Henry Tucker became the territory's first Premier.

Sir Henry James "Jack" Tucker was the first Government Leader of Bermuda. He is considered — together with Dr. E. F. Gordon - one of the island's two most important leaders of the 20th century. Tucker first took office on 10 June 1968 and served until 29 December 1971, as a member of the United Bermuda Party (UBP), the political party that he helped found in 1964.

Electoral system

Four additional constituencies were created since the 1963 election. The election was the first held under equal universal suffrage, as the additional vote for property owners used in the 1963 election was scrapped, and the voting age lowered from 25 to 21.

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
United Bermuda Party 30+6
Progressive Labour Party 10+4
Independents0–30
Total40+4
Registered voters
Source: Bermuda Sun

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