Elections in

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with roughly of coastline. It is n ...

take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a

parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...

. The Legislative Assembly is directly elected, and a Chief Minister is selected by the party or coalition with the most seats in the Assembly.

Electoral history

Elections were held in

in the 19th century, but with a severely limited franchise; in 1837 only 114 of the 7,119 residents of the island were eligible to vote. The partially elected Legislative Assembly dissolved itself in 1866 and was replaced with a wholly appointed body, which remained in place until 1937 when constitutional reforms reintroduced elected members. The reorganised legislature had nine seats; four elected, three held by government officials and two by nominees appointed by the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. The first elections in Montserrat in the 20th century took place in the same year.

Universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political sta ...

was introduced in 1951, and the 1952 elections were the first in which all adults on the island could vote. They saw the

Montserrat Labour Party The Montserrat Labour Party (MLP) was a political party in Montserrat. History The party was established in 1951, and was linked with the Montserrat Trades and Labour Union. In the 1952 elections, the first held under universal suffrage, the pa ...

win all five elected seats in the Legislative Council. The MLP subsequently won elections in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijiangs ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

(when the Council was expanded to seven seats) and

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo ...

. The 1970 elections saw the new Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) win all seven seats. The PDP also won the 1973 elections, but was defeated in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

when the People's Liberation Movement (PLM) won all seven seats. The PLM went on to win the 1983 and 1987 elections. The 1991 elections were won by the National Progressive Party, which won four of the seven seats. The 1996 elections resulted in a

hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisla ...

, with the People's Progressive Alliance (PPA) and

Movement for National Reconstruction The Movement for National Reconstruction (MNR) was a political party in Montserrat led by Bertrand Osborne. History Osborne had previously been leader of the National Development Party, which won a single seat in the 1991 elections. However, b ...

(MNR) holding two seats, the NPP holding one, and the remaining seats taken by two independents. The island's first coalition government was formed by the MNR, NPP and an independent MP. A new electoral system was introduced for the 2001 elections as a result of the volcanic eruptions rendering four of the seven constituencies uninhabitable. The seven single-member constituencies were replaced with one nine-member constituency in which voters could vote for nine candidates. The elections were won by the

New People's Liberation Movement The New People's Liberation Movement was a political party in Montserrat led by John Osborne. History The NPLM was established in 2001 by a merger of the People's Progressive Alliance and the Movement for National Reconstruction,2006 elections resulted in another hung parliament, and although the Movement for Change and Prosperity (MCAP) emerged as the largest party with four seats, the NPLM and the

Montserrat Democratic Party The Montserrat Democratic Party (MDP) was a political party in Montserrat. History The original Montserrat Democratic Party was established in 1958 and led by Eric Kelsick. It was only the second party founded in the country after the Montserra ...

formed a coalition government together with the sole independent MP. Although the NPLM held three seats and the MDP one, MDP leader

Lowell Lewis Lowell Lyttleton Lewis (born August 18, 1952) was a politician, a former Chief Minister of Montserrat. He is the Chief Medical Officer of Montserrat. Chief Minister of Montserrat Lewis first elected in April 2001, took office as Chief Minister on ...

became Chief Minister. The 2009 elections were won by the MCAP, which took six of the nine seats. In 2011 the Legislative Council was abolished and replaced by the Legislative Assembly. In the first elections to the new body in 2014, the MCAP was defeated by the new

People's Democratic Movement The People's Democratic Movement is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded by Paias Wingti in 1985, after his faction left the Pangu Party. Wingti served as prime minister from 1985 to 1988 and from 1992 to 1994. He was later re ...

, which won seven seats.

Electoral system

The nine members of the Legislative Assembly are elected for five-year terms in a single constituency in which voters can vote for nine candidates.General Election Results - 2 April 2001
Caribbean Elections The island is split into six polling divisions for vote counting.Polling Divisions
Caribbean Elections

References

External links

Election Commission
{{Montserrat topics