British Virgin Islands general election, 1999
Encyclopedia
The British Virgin Islands general election, 1999 was held in the British Virgin Islands
on 17 May 1999. The result was a victory for the incumbent Virgin Islands Party (VIP) led by Chief Minister Ralph T. O'Neal
over the newly formed National Democratic Party
(NDP) led by Orlando Smith
.
The election was largely notable for three reasons:
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
on 17 May 1999. The result was a victory for the incumbent Virgin Islands Party (VIP) led by Chief Minister Ralph T. O'Neal
Ralph T. O'Neal
Ralph Telford O'Neal, OBE is the former Premier of the British Virgin Islands, and is expected to be appointed as the leader of the opposition...
over the newly formed National Democratic Party
National Democratic Party (British Virgin Islands)
The National Democratic Party is a political party in the British Virgin Islands.In the 2007 general election the incumbent NDP was crushed by the Virgin Islands Party and lost all except for 2 of its seats....
(NDP) led by Orlando Smith
Orlando Smith
D. Orlando Smith, OBE is the current Premier of the British Virgin Islands. He also formerly served as Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands from 2003 to 2007...
.
The election was largely notable for three reasons:
- It was the first election in the history of the Territory in which Lavity StouttLavity StouttHamilton Lavity Stoutt was the first and longest serving Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands, winning four general elections and serving three non-consecutive terms of office from 1967 to 1971, again from 1981 to 1983 and again from 1986 until his death in 1995.Since Stoutt's death in...
, a dominant political force in the British Virgin Islands did not participate; - It marked the emergence of the NDP, the first serious opposition to the VIP since the dissolution of the United PartyUnited Party (British Virgin Islands)The United Party is a now political party of the British Virgin Islands.It was originally formed by H. Lavity Stoutt, Terrance B...
; and - It was the first election in the British Virgin Islands involving territorial "at-large" seats in addition to traditional district seats.