1979 British Virgin Islands general election

General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 12 November 1979. The result was a victory for the opposition Virgin Islands Party (VIP) led by former Chief Minister Lavity Stoutt over the incumbent United Party (UP) led by Willard Wheatley. The newly formed Virgin Islands National Movement (VINM), led by Elvin Stoutt, also contested the elections but did not win any seats.

1979 British Virgin Islands general election

← 1975 12 November 1979 (1979-11-12) 1983 →

All seats in the British Virgin Islands Legislative Council
5 seats needed for a majority
Turnout74.8%
  First party Second party
 
Leader Lavity Stoutt Willard Wheatley
Party VIP United Party
Leader since 1971 1975
Leader's seat 1st District 7th District
Seats won 5 1
Popular vote 733 178
Percentage 27.8% 6.7%

Chief Minister before election

Willard Wheatley
United Party (Coalition)

Elected Chief Minister

Lavity Stoutt
VIP

The supervisor of elections was Trevor A.F. Peters.[1] Voter turnout was 74.8%.

The 1979 general election was the first election to be conducted after the legislature had been expanded from seven to nine elected seats. Three of the nine seats were not contested, with only a single candidate standing in the 3rd, 7th and 8th Districts. For the 3rd District, this was the second consecutive general election where the seat was uncontested.

The Virgin Islands Party won the election despite receiving only 733 votes in aggregate across all seats, and just 27.8% of the vote. This low figure was in part was caused by the high number of uncontested seats, but also reflected significant voter disenchantment with the political process.

Background

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By 1979 internal fighting had severely limited the capability of almost every political party in the British Virgin Islands. After internal fighting, the VI Democratic Party (VIDP) was left with just one candidate: its founder, Q.W. Osborne. The United Party fared little better: it was able to field two candidates. Neither party would win a contested seat, although Willard Wheatley would win the 7th District by default for the United Party as he was unopposed. The newly created Virgin Islands National Movement fielded the second most candidates with three, and even the Virgin Islands Party could only muster four.

Results

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The Virgin Islands Party won all four of the seats it contested. Still short of being able to form a government, they moved to secure the loyalty of Oliver Cills (who had previously been a member of the VI Democratic Party), giving them a majority with which to form a government.

The victory of the Virgin Islands Party with just 733 votes and a 27.8% share of the vote are both record lows for a general election in the British Virgin Islands.

Candidates who were elected for the first time included future Chief Minister, Cyril Romney, and future Minister, Omar Hodge, who would hold his seat for the next 32 years (the third longest such span in British Virgin Islands politics).

The defeat of Q.W. Osborne in the 5th District signalled the end of the VI Democratic Party. Following the elections, the United Party was the only party left in existence from the 1967 general election.

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Virgin Islands Party73327.784+1
Virgin Islands National Movement60522.930New
United Party1786.741–1
VI Democratic Party1194.510–1
Independents1,00438.044+3
Total2,639100.009+2
Valid votes2,63998.80
Invalid/blank votes321.20
Total votes2,671100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,57074.82
Source: BVI Deputy Governor's Office[1]

By constituency

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Oliver Cills (3rd District, Virgin Islands Party), Terrance B. Lettsome (7th District, Virgin Islands Party), and Willard Wheatley (8th District, United Party) were elected unopposed.

1st District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Hamilton Lavity StouttVirgin Islands Party32856.16
Elvin O. StouttVirgin Islands National Movement25643.84
Total584100.00
Valid votes58498.32
Invalid/blank votes101.68
Total votes594100.00
Registered voters/turnout76577.65
2nd District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Prince StouttVirgin Islands Party13957.44
Edison O'NealVirgin Islands National Movement10342.56
Total242100.00
Valid votes24299.18
Invalid/blank votes20.82
Total votes244100.00
Registered voters/turnout36467.03
4th District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Alban Ulric AnthonyVirgin Islands Party26650.67
Reynold O'NealVirgin Islands National Movement24646.86
Carlton deCastroIndependent132.48
Total525100.00
Valid votes52598.68
Invalid/blank votes71.32
Total votes532100.00
Registered voters/turnout75170.84
5th District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Cyril RomneyIndependent22265.10
Qwominer William OsborneVI Democratic Party11934.90
Total341100.00
Valid votes34199.13
Invalid/blank votes30.87
Total votes344100.00
Registered voters/turnout46474.14
6th District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Omar HodgeIndependent19752.53
Conrad MaduroUnited Party17847.47
Total375100.00
Valid votes37598.94
Invalid/blank votes41.06
Total votes379100.00
Registered voters/turnout55068.91
9th District
CandidatePartyVotes%
Ralph T. O'NealIndependent40370.45
Reeial GeorgeIndependent16929.55
Total572100.00
Valid votes57298.96
Invalid/blank votes61.04
Total votes578100.00
Registered voters/turnout67685.50

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b "BVI election and information results 1950–2011" (PDF). BVI Deputy Governor's Office. pp. 84–86. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014.