1979 British Virgin Islands general election

General election held in the British Virgin Islands May 2014 May 2014 1979 British Virgin Islands general election British Virgin Islands parliamentary 1975 British Virgin Islands general election 1975 yes 1979 11 12 1983 British Virgin Islands general election 1983 All seats in the British Virgin Islands Legislative Council 5 74.8% Hamilton Lavity Stoutt Virgin Islands Party 1971 1st District 5 733 27.8% Willard Wheatley United Party 1975 7th District 1 178 6.7% Chief Minister Willard Wheatley United Party (Coalition) Hamilton Lavity Stoutt Virgin Islands Party 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 Hamilton 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. The supervisor of elections was Trevor A.F. Peters. 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 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 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. Virgin Islands Party 733 4 +1 Virgin Islands National Movement 605 0 New United Party 178 1 –1 VI Democratic Party 119 0 –1 Independents 1004 4 +3 32 3570 +2 BVI Deputy Governor's Officehttp://216.197.123.192/Portals/0/Forms/Election%20Information%20and%20Results%201950-2011.pdf BVI election and information results 1950–2011 BVI Deputy Governor's Office 84–86 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140407063531/http://216.197.123.192/Portals/0/Forms/Election%20Information%20and%20Results%201950-2011.pdf 7 April 2014 dmy-all By constituency 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 Hamilton Lavity Stoutt Virgin Islands Party 328 Elvin O. Stoutt Virgin Islands National Movement 256 10 765 2nd District Prince Stoutt Virgin Islands Party 139 Edison O'Neal Virgin Islands National Movement 103 2 364 4th District Alban Ulric Anthony Virgin Islands Party 266 Reynold O'Neal Virgin Islands National Movement 246 Carlton deCastro Independent 13 7 751 5th District Cyril Romney Independent 222 Qwominer William Osborne VI Democratic Party 119 3 464 6th District Omar Hodge Independent 197 Conrad Maduro United Party 178 4 550 9th District Ralph T. O'Neal Independent 403 Reeial George Independent 169 6 676 Footnotes Category:Elections in the British Virgin Islands British Virgin General election British Virgin Islands general election British Virgin