British Virgin Islands general election, 1971
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The British Virgin Islands general election, 1971 was held in the British Virgin Islands on 2 June 1971. The result was a victory for a coalition of the VI Democratic Party (DP) together with independent candidate Willard Wheatley over the newly formed Virgin Islands Party (VIP) led by former Chief Minister Lavity Stoutt, and incumbent BVI United Party (UP) led by Conrad Maduro.
Prior to the election Stoutt had was serving as Chief Minister and leader of the UP, but due to internal divisions Stoutt left and formed his new party to contest the election against the UP and the DP, but ended up losing and being replaced by Wheatley as Chief Minister.
The election was also notable for the first female candidate in a British Virgin Islands election: Millicent Mercer contested the 5th District on behalf of the VIP, but lost to Conrad Maduro.
In the 7th District the former representative, Robinson O'Neal, had died in a car crash the prior year.
Results
Curiously no record of the exact voting tallies for each seat appears to have survived, but winners and contesting candidates were as follows:
| Constituency | Candidates | Winner | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st District | H. Lavity Stoutt (VIP) | H. Lavity Stoutt | Virgin Islands Party |
| Wilfred Smith (UP) | |||
| 2nd District | Austin Henley (VIDP) | Austin Henley | VI Democratic Party |
| Connor Stanford (IND) | |||
| Prince Stoutt (IND) | |||
| Neville Hodge (IND) | |||
| 3rd District | Oliver Cills (VIDP) | Oliver Cills | VI Democratic Party |
| Leopold Smith (VIP) | |||
| 4th District | Q. William Osborne (VIDP) | Q. William Osborne | VI Democratic Party |
| I. Glanville Fonseca (POP) | |||
| 5th District | Conrad Maduro (UP) | Conrad Maduro | BVI United Party |
| Henry Hodge (VIDP) | |||
| Millicent Mercer (VIP) | |||
| 6th District | Willard Wheatley (IND) | Willard Wheatley | Independent |
| Terrance B. Lettsome (VIP) | |||
| 7th District | Reeial George (VIP) | Reeial George | Virgin Islands Party |
| Ralph T. O'Neal (VIDP) |
Appointments
Following the election:[2]
- Willard Wheatley was appointed Chief Minister and Minister for Education
- Oliver Cills was appointed Minister for Communications, Works and Industry
- Q.W. Osborne was appointed Minister for Natural Resources and Public Health
- Lavity Stoutt became the Leader of the Opposition
References
- ↑ "BVI election and information results 1950–2011" (PDF). BVI Deputy Governor's Office. pp. 75–77.
- ↑ "BVI election and information results 1950–2011" (PDF). BVI Deputy Governor's Office. p. 77.
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