The British Virgin Islands general election, 2011 was held in the British Virgin Islands on 7 November 2011.[1] 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.[2] No minor parties or independent candidates won any seats.
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[edit]Background
The House of Assembly was dissolved on 13 September 2011, by the Governor, Mr William Boyd McCleary, on advice from the Premier. However, the date of the election was not announced until 23 September 2011.
Premier Ralph O'Neal confirmed that he would lead his party at the 2011 general election, even though he would turn 78 shortly after the election, and would be 82 at the end of the term of office (if re-elected).
Second district representative, Alvin Christopher (who received the highest percentage of votes for a territorial candidate (75.9%) in the 2007 election) announced that he will run for the Virgin Islands Party. Mr Christopher has formerly run for the VIP, the NDP and as an independent candidate.
Although the ruling Virgin Islands Party had a huge majority following the 2007 election the intervening years had been characterised by difficult economic times, and a series of natural disasters had hit the Territory damaging its infrastructure. Both of these events led to criticism being directed towards the ruling Government.
[edit]Results
| Parties | Votes* | %age | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Democratic Party | 22,858 | 52.5% | 9 |
| Virgin Islands Party | 16,998 | 39.0% | 4 |
| People's Patriotic Alliance | 2,204 | 5.1% | 0 |
| Independents | 1,491 | 3.4% | 0 |
| Speaker and Attorney General | 2 | ||
| Total (turnout 68.8% (est.)) | 43,551 | 100.0% | 15 |
| * Each voter has 5 votes; 1 district vote and 4 territorial "at-large" votes | |||
| Source: BVI Platinum News | |||
[edit]District seats
The early (unofficial) results of the voting for the district seats were as follows:
- First electorial district
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew A. Fahie (VIP) | 611 | 65.8% |
| Preston Stoutt (IND) | 317 | 34.2% |
- Second Electoral District
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| J. Alvin Christopher (VIP) | 423 | 52.4% |
| Claude Cline-Skelton (NDP) | 339 | 42.0% |
| Leall Rhymer (IND) | 38 | 4.7% |
| Allewine Smith | 7 | 0.9% |
- Third Electoral District
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Julian Fraser (VIP) | 613 | 52.4% |
| Kevin Smith (NDP) | 557 | 47.6% |
- Fourth Electoral District
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Vanterpool (NDP) | 661 | 68.5% |
| Vincent Scatliffe (VIP) | 209 | 21.7% |
| Collin Scatliffe (IND) | 95 | 9.8% |
- Fifth Electoral District
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Delores Christopher (NDP) | 727 | 55.0% |
| Elvis Jerome Harrigan (VIP) | 596 | 45.0% |
- Sixth Electoral District
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Alvera Maduro-Caines (NDP) | 612 | 61.4% |
| Omar Hodge (VIP) | 385 | 38.6% |
- Seventh Electoral District
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Kedrick Pickering (NDP) | 535 | 70.1% |
| Ronnie Lettsome (VIP) | 156 | 20.5% |
| Allen Wheatley (IND) | 72 | 9.4% |
- Eighth Electoral District
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Marlon Penn (NDP) | 524 | 48.1% |
| Dancia Penn (VIP) | 423 | 38.8% |
| Bevis Sylvester (IND) | 112 | 10.3% |
| Nolan Davis (IND) | 30 | 2.8% |
- Ninth Electoral District
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Ralph T. O'Neal (VIP) | 565 | 49.4% |
| Hubert O'Neal (NDP) | 537 | 46.9% |
| Lorie Rymer (IND) | 20 | 1.8% |
| Devon Osborne (IND) | 11 | 1.0% |
| Rheudell Samuel O'Neal | 11 | 1.0% |
(IND) = Independent candidate
(NDP) = National Democratic Party candidate
(VIP) = Virgin Islands Party candidate
(NDP) = National Democratic Party candidate
(VIP) = Virgin Islands Party candidate
In the early polling, one of the bigger surprises was the defeat of Government minister and veteran politician, Omar Hodge, in the 6th district by political newcomer, Alvera Maduro-Caines. Early counts showed incumbent Premier, Ralph O'Neal, trailing his challenger, Hubert O'Neal, in the 9th district, but he eventually overhauled the challenger to retain the seat which he has held since 1971.
In the Territorial seats, the highest percentage of votes and greatest margin of victory (nearly 50 points) was Kendrick Pickering in the 7th district. The largest number of individual votes however was Delores Christopher in the 5th district. The lowest percentage of votes by a winning candidate was Marlon Penn (48.1%) in the four way race in the 9th district. The lowest total number of votes by a victorious candidate was Alvin Christopher (423) in the 2nd district.
[edit]Territorial At-Large Seats
The results for the at-large seats were as following. The top four vote receiving candidates are elected to the at-large seats.
| Position | Candidate | Party | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orlando Smith | (NDP) | (5,081 votes) |
| 2 | Myron Walwyn | (NDP) | (4,605 votes) |
| 3 | Ronnie Skelton | (NDP) | (4,475 votes) |
| 4 | Archibald Christian | (NDP) | (4,205 votes) |
| 5 | Irene Penn-O'Neal | (VIP) | (3,764 votes) |
| 6 | Zoë Walcott-McMillan | (VIP) | (3,335 votes) |
| 7 | Vernon Malone | (VIP) | (2,960 votes) |
| 8 | Keith Flax | (VIP) | (2,958 votes) |
| 9 | Shaina Smith | (PPA) | (889 votes) |
| 10 | Natalio Wheatley | (PPA) | (785 votes) |
| 11 | Bertrand Lettsome | (IND) | (476 votes) |
| 12 | Elton Callwood | (PPA) | (332 votes) |
| 13 | Khoy Smith | (PPA) | (198 votes) |
| 14 | Edmund Maduro | (IND) | (122 votes) |
| 15 | Lionel Penn | (IND) | (99 votes) |
| 16 | Eileen Baronville | (IND) | (81 votes) |
(IND) = Independent candidate
(NDP) = National Democratic Party candidate
(PPA) = People’s Patriotic Alliance
(VIP) = Virgin Islands Party candidate
(NDP) = National Democratic Party candidate
(PPA) = People’s Patriotic Alliance
(VIP) = Virgin Islands Party candidate
Orlando Smith, being the leader of the victorious National Democratic Party, will be invited by the Governor to form a new Govenrment as the Premier.
Orlando Smith also retains his record as being the only politician to be elected as an at-large candidate at every single election in the British Virgin Islands since at-large candidates have been allowed to stand.
[edit]New Government
On 9 November 2011, the Governor, Mr Boyd McCleary officially appointed Orlando Smith as the Premier under section 52(1) the constitution. He becomes the third person in BVI political history to serve two non-consecutive terms of office as Chief Minister/Premier, and the fourth to win more than one general election as party leader
On the same day the first cabinet was sworn in under Orlando Smith.
- In addition to serving as the Territory’s Premier Honourable Orlando Smith was appointed Minister of Finance and Tourism.
- Honourable Kendrick Pickering was appointed Deputy Premier, and Minister of Natural Resources and Labour.
- Honourable Myron Walwyn was appointed Minister of Education and Culture.
- Honourable Mark Vanterpool was appointed Minister of Communications and Works.
- Honourable Ronnie Skelton was appointed Minister of Health and Social Development.
[edit]Sources
[edit]Footnotes
- ^ "Premier Announces November 7 As General Elections Day". Platinum News BVI. 2011-09-23.
- ^ "Loud celebration begins in Road Town!". Virgin Islands News Online. Retrieved 2011-11-08.
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