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1983 British Virgin Islands general election

1983 British Virgin Islands general election

← 1979 11 November 1983 (1983-11-11) 1986 →
All seats in the British Virgin Islands Legislative Council 5 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	73.2%
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 4 4 Popular vote 1,355 1,322 Percentage 44.90% 43.80%
Chief Minister before election Lavity Stoutt Virgin Islands Party Elected Chief Minister Cyril Romney BVI United Party (Coalition)

General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 11 November 1983. The result was a victory for the opposition United Party in coalition with independent candidate Cyril Romney over the governing Virgin Islands Party (VIP) led by former Chief Minister Lavity Stoutt. Each major party won four seats, and Cyril Romney was the sole remaining elected independent. Accordingly, Romney allegedly agree to join a coalition with whichever party would make him Chief Minister. The VIP declined to do so, but the UP eventually agreed thereby winning the election despite securing a smaller overall percentage of the vote.

Janice George served as the supervisor of elections.^[1] Turnout averaged 73.1% across the six districts that voted; the 1st District had the highest turnout (83.5%) and the 3rd District had the lowest (67.8%).^[2]

1983 was the second election after the Legislative Council had been expanded from seven district seats to nine. Astonishingly, just like the previous election, fully one third of the seats up for election were not contested, with only a single candidate standing in the 7th, 8th and 9th Districts. For the 7th and 8th Districts, this was the second consecutive general election when those seats went uncontested.

The election is also notable in that every single person who would ever serve as Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands (excluding Premiers) (Stoutt, Wheatley, Romney and O'Neal) was elected during the 1983 general election.

Notable candidates who were elected for the first time included future Leader of the Opposition, E. Walwyn Brewley.

Results[edit]

By constituency[edit]

Terrance B. Lettsome (7th District, Virgin Islands Party), Willard Wheatley (8th District, United Party), and Ralph T. O'Neal (9th District, Virgin Islands Party) were elected unopposed.

Footnotes[edit]