The Barbuda Council is a local authority that manages day-to-day internal affairs on the island of Barbuda

Barbuda

Barbuda is an island in the Eastern Caribbean, and forms part of the state of Antigua and Barbuda. It has a population of about 1,500, most of whom live in the town of Codrington.-Location:...

. The council administers and regulates agriculture, forestry, public health, public utilities, and roads. It also raises and collects revenue to meet expenses incurred in the performance of its functions.

History and electoral system

The Barbuda Council was established in 1976 by the Barbuda Local Government Act. It is an 11-member body consisting of nine directly elected and two ex-officio (Barbuda's House

House of Representatives of Antigua and Barbuda

The House of Representatives of Antigua and Barbuda is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral parliament.The current House of Representatives, formed following elections held on 12 March 2009, has a total of 19 members. 17 members are directly elected to five year terms from single member...

 and Senate

Senate of Antigua and Barbuda

The Senate is the Upper House of Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda. It consists of 17 members appointed by the Governor General. Ten Members are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, four on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition, one on the advice of the Barbuda Council, one resident...

 representatives in the national Parliament

Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda

The Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda consists of:*HM Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Antigua and Barbuda*The Senate *The House of Representatives -External links:**...

) members who serve four-year terms.

Elections are held every two years in March with four seats and five seats becoming vacant at alternative polls.

2005 election

An election was held on 23 March 2005 to select five council members. Eleven candidates participated in the poll. The results of that election are as follows:

Candidate	Party	Votes
Kelvin Punter (Elected)	Barbuda People's Movement Barbuda People's Movement The Barbuda People's Movement is a political party in Antigua and Barbuda allied with the ruling United Progressive Party.-History:The party first contested a general election in 1989, in which they won a single seat. They held the seat in the 1994 and 1999. In the 2004 elections the candidates of...	445
Courtney Burton (Elected)	Barbuda People's Movement	404
Fabian Jones (Elected)	Barbuda People's Movement	384
Lincoln Burton (Elected)	Barbuda People's Movement	379
Randolph Beazer (Elected)	Barbuda People's Movement	376
Calvin Gore	Barbuda People's Movement for Change Barbuda People's Movement for Change The Barbuda People's Movement for Change is a political party in Barbuda, part of Antigua and Barbuda.At the last elections, 23 March 2004, the party contested the sole seat allotted to Barbuda . The election ended in a draw between BPMC and the Barbuda People's Movement, which both got exactly 400...	357
Tyrone Beazer	Barbuda People's Movement for Change	355
Hilroy Thomas	Barbuda People's Movement for Change	331
Gene Cephas	Barbuda People's Movement for Change	306
Mario Beazer	Barbuda People's Movement for Change	302
Reuben James	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	75

777 (or 87.0%) of the island's 893 registered voters participated in the election.

Current composition

After the election, political party distribution among the 9 directly elected seats is as follows:

• Barbuda People's Movement
  Barbuda People's Movement
  The Barbuda People's Movement is a political party in Antigua and Barbuda allied with the ruling United Progressive Party.-History:The party first contested a general election in 1989, in which they won a single seat. They held the seat in the 1994 and 1999. In the 2004 elections the candidates of...
  
   – 6 seats
• Barbuda People's Movement for Change
  Barbuda People's Movement for Change
  The Barbuda People's Movement for Change is a political party in Barbuda, part of Antigua and Barbuda.At the last elections, 23 March 2004, the party contested the sole seat allotted to Barbuda . The election ended in a draw between BPMC and the Barbuda People's Movement, which both got exactly 400...
  
   – 3 Seats

Chairmen of the Barbuda Council

Incumbent	Tenure
	Took Office	Left Office
....	1976	1979
Hilbourne Frank Hilbourne Frank Sir Thomas Hilbourne Frank is a politician from Antigua and Barbuda. He is political leader of the Barbuda People's Movement, which favours greater independence of Barbuda from Antigua and supports the United Progressive Party. He served as Chairman of the Barbuda Council on two occasions – from...  (1st time)	1979	1985
Arthur Nibbs Arthur Nibbs Arthur Nibbs is a politician from Antigua and Barbuda. He represents the Antigua Labour Party in the Antiguan Senate. Born in Barbuda, he was educated at the Holy Trinity School and the Antigua Grammar School.-Political career:...  (1st time)	1985	1989
Hilbourne Frank Hilbourne Frank Sir Thomas Hilbourne Frank is a politician from Antigua and Barbuda. He is political leader of the Barbuda People's Movement, which favours greater independence of Barbuda from Antigua and supports the United Progressive Party. He served as Chairman of the Barbuda Council on two occasions – from...  (2nd time)	1989	1997
Arthur Nibbs Arthur Nibbs Arthur Nibbs is a politician from Antigua and Barbuda. He represents the Antigua Labour Party in the Antiguan Senate. Born in Barbuda, he was educated at the Holy Trinity School and the Antigua Grammar School.-Political career:...  (2nd time)	1997	April 2001
Fabian Jones (1st time)	April 2001	2005
Lincoln Burton	2005	19 January 2006
Randolph Beazer Randolph Beazer Randolph Beazer is a Barbudan politician. He was elected to the Barbuda Council in 2005 and has served as its chairman from 19 January 2006 to 9 Jan 2008.-References:...	19 January 2006	9 January 2008
Fabian Jones (2nd time)	9 January 2008	31 March 2009
Kelvin Punter	31 March 2009	present