| British Virgin Islands |
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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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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.
| 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 | |||
The results of the voting for the district seats were as follows:
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew A. Fahie (VIP) | 611 | 65.8% |
| Preston Stoutt (IND) | 317 | 34.2% |
| 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% |
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Julian Fraser (VIP) | 613 | 52.4% |
| Kevin Smith (NDP) | 557 | 47.6% |
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Vanterpool (NDP) | 661 | 68.5% |
| Vincent Scatliffe (VIP) | 209 | 21.7% |
| Collin Scatliffe (IND) | 95 | 9.8% |
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Delores Christopher (NDP) | 727 | 55.0% |
| Elvis Jerome Harrigan (VIP) | 596 | 45.0% |
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Alvera Maduro-Caines (NDP) | 612 | 61.4% |
| Omar Hodge (VIP) | 385 | 38.6% |
| Candidate | No of votes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Kedrick Pickering (NDP) | 535 | 70.1% |
| Ronnie Lettsome (VIP) | 156 | 20.5% |
| Allen Wheatley (IND) | 72 | 9.4% |
| 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% |
| 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
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.
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
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.
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.
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