Caribbean News
16,000 to Vote from 42 Candidates in BVI General Elections
By Sherrica Thompson
Staff Writer
#BVI, April 21, 2023 – On Monday, April 24, over 16, 000 registered voters in the British Virgin Islands will be going to the polls to vote for a new government in the country’s General Elections. A total of forty-two (42) candidates will be contesting the elections.
The country’s two main political parties, the incumbent: Virgin Islands Party (VIP) and the National Democratic Party (NDP), as well as the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM), Progressives United (PU) and ten independent candidates, will be competing in Monday’s elections. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association will also be in the BVI from Monday, April 17, to Thursday, April 27, to observe the elections.
In the last general elections held in February 2019, the VIP won eight of the 13 seats in the House of Assembly, giving
In February, Premier Dr. Natalio Wheatley, while referring to the governance issues that the country faced with the hefty criminal allegations levelled at the former premier and VIP party leader related to drugs smuggling and money laundering, noted that he was confident that the VIP would return to power.
“We have been able to steady the ship, we have improved our relationship with the United Kingdom and of course, we have been able to implement recommendations and the United Kingdom has expressed their pleasure of the progress even though there are areas we have to improve upon,” he told the CARIB Update television programme.
“But generally they are pleased with the progress and of course, people of the British Virgin Islands are pleased with the progress made so far and correcting things in our governance.”
Wheatley became head of the Virgin Islands in April last year after former Premier Andrew Fahie was detained in Miami by United States agents posing as cocaine traffickers from a Mexican drug cartel.
In the BVI, voters elect 13 representatives for a four-year term, nine of whom are electoral district representatives and the other four as territorial-at-large representatives, the Attorney General, a non-voting, ex-officio member and one elected Speaker.