General elections were held in the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

on 28 November 1963 for seats on the

Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands The House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands, until 2007 known as the Legislative Council, has 15 members: 13 directly elected for four-year terms (nine in single-seat constituencies and four "at large"), and two ''ex officio'' members ...

. For the general election the Territory was divided into five districts, the largest of which (the 2nd District -

Road Town Road Town, located on Tortola, is the capital of the British Virgin Islands. It is situated on the horseshoe-shaped Road Harbour in the centre of the island's south coast. The population was about 15,000 in 2018. The name is derived from the na ...

) would have two members. All seats were contested. The Supervisor of Elections was

Ralph T. O'Neal Ralph Telford O'Neal, OBE (15 December 1933 – 11 November 2019) was a British Virgin Islander politician. He was the longest ever serving elected representative in the British Virgin Islands, and served as Chief Minister (when the office was ...

Results

At the time candidates were not affiliated with

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

. Notable candidates elected for the first time included future

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

, Q.W. Osborne, and future Minister, Terrance B. Lettsome. The 1963 election essentially served as a prelude to the introduction of Ministerial government in the next election in 1967. The three most prominent politicians elected, Lavity Stoutt, Q.W. Osborne and Ivan Dawson went on to form political parties in 1967 to contest the election once party politics was introduced to the jurisdiction.

Appointments

Prior to 1967 there were no Ministerial appointments in the British Virgin Islands, but elected politicians did undertake certain Ministerial type responsibilities. Subsequent to the election, Lavity Stoutt was appointed Member for Communications and Works, and Ivan Dawson was appointed Member for Trade and Production.

References

Elections in the British Virgin Islands British Virgin

General election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

November 1963 events in North America British Virgin Election and referendum articles with incomplete results {{caribbean-election-stub