Barbuda Council

Antigua and Barbuda

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Politics and government of
Antigua and Barbuda



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The Barbuda Council is a local authority that manages day-to-day internal affairs on the island of Barbuda. The council administers and regulates agriculture, forestry, public health, public utilities, and roads. It also raises and collects revenue to meet expenses incurred in the performance of its functions.

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History and electoral system

The Barbuda Council was established in 1976 by the Barbuda Local Government Act. It is an 11-member body consisting of nine directly elected and two ex-officio (Barbuda's House and Senate representatives in the national Parliament) members who serve four-year terms.

Elections are held every two years in March with four seats and five seats becoming vacant at alternative polls.

2005 election

An election was held on 23 March 2005 to select five council members. Eleven candidates participated in the poll. The results of that election are as follows:

Candidate Party Votes
Kelvin Punter
(Elected)
Barbuda People's Movement 445
Courtney Burton
(Elected)
Barbuda People's Movement 404
Fabian Jones
(Elected)
Barbuda People's Movement 384
Lincoln Burton
(Elected)
Barbuda People's Movement 379
Randolph Beazer
(Elected)
Barbuda People's Movement 376
Calvin Gore Barbuda People's Movement for Change 357
Tyrone Beazer Barbuda People's Movement for Change 355
Hilroy Thomas Barbuda People's Movement for Change 331
Gene Cephas Barbuda People's Movement for Change 306
Mario Beazer Barbuda People's Movement for Change 302
Reuben James Independent 75

777 (or 87.0%) of the island's 893 registered voters participated in the election.

Current composition

After the election, political party distribution among the 9 directly elected seats is as follows:

Chairmen of the Barbuda Council

Incumbent Tenure
Took Office Left Office
.... 1976 1979
Hilbourne Frank (1st time) 1979 1985
Arthur Nibbs (1st time) 1985 1989
Hilbourne Frank (2nd time) 1989 1997
Arthur Nibbs (2nd time) 1997 April 2001
Fabian Jones (1st time) April 2001 2005
Lincoln Burton 2005 19 January 2006
Randolph Beazer 19 January 2006 9 January 2008
Fabian Jones (2nd time) 9 January 2008 31 March 2009
Kelvin Punter 31 March 2009 present

See also