Misplaced Pages

#556443

15-611: It was originally formed by Dr Q. William Osborne during the first session of the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands under the new constitution in 1967 subsequent to the general election on 14 April 1967 . After the election Dr Osborne was the Territory's first leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council . The VI Democratic Party only once held power in the Territory. After

30-475: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Qwominer William Osborne Dr Qwominer William Osborne , OBE (usually referred to as Q.W. Osborne or William Osborne ) was a British Virgin Islander politician and physician. His political career started in the 1963 general election , when he was elected to the seat for the 5th District. Prior to 1967 elections to the Legislative Council of

45-489: The 1971 general election it formed a coalition government with independent candidate Willard Wheatley , with Wheatley acting as Chief Minister . However, disagreements arose between Wheatley and Osborne, and Wheatley ended up removing Osborne from his Ministerial post. For the 1975 general election Wheatley abandoned his former coalition partners and ran successfully with the United Party , and Osborne also abandoned

60-668: The British Virgin Islands on 12 November 1979. The result was a victory for the opposition Virgin Islands Party (VIP) led by former Chief Minister Lavity Stoutt over the incumbent United Party (UP) led by Willard Wheatley . The newly formed Virgin Islands National Movement (VINM), led by Elvin Stoutt, also contested the elections but did not win any seats. The supervisor of elections

75-559: The VI Democratic Party (VIDP) was left with just one candidate: its founder, Q.W. Osborne . The United Party fared little better: it was able to field two candidates. Neither party would win a contested seat, although Willard Wheatley would win the 7th District by default for the United Party as he was unopposed. The newly created Virgin Islands National Movement fielded the second most candidates with three, and even

90-474: The British Virgin Islands were on a non-party basis, and legislators who were elected governed collectively. However, the 1967 general election introduced party politics into the British Virgin Islands, and Osborne founded and became leader of the VI Democratic Party . Ultimately that party would come second in the election to the BVI United Party led by Lavity Stoutt . Osborne thereby became

105-557: The Virgin Islands Party could only muster four. The Virgin Islands Party won all four of the seats it contested. Still short of being able to form a government, they moved to secure the loyalty of Oliver Cills (who had previously been a member of the VI Democratic Party), giving them a majority with which to form a government. The victory of the Virgin Islands Party with just 733 votes and a 27.8% share of

120-418: The election despite receiving only 733 votes in aggregate across all seats, and just 27.8% of the vote. This low figure was in part was caused by the high number of uncontested seats, but also reflected significant voter disenchantment with the political process. By 1979 internal fighting had severely limited the capability of almost every political party in the British Virgin Islands. After internal fighting,

135-487: The first ever Leader of the Opposition in the British Virgin Islands . In the subsequent 1971 general election he led his party to the highest number of overall seats, but short of an outright majority. Faced with potentially ruling as a minority government , he formed a coalition with independent candidate Willard Wheatley . However, Wheatley required that he be made Chief Minister , and Osborne agreed. Osborne

150-515: The party ceased to exist. Osborne would later come out of retirement to run one more time, in 1986, but garnered barely any electoral support and lost by a wide margin. This article about a British Virgin Islands politician is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 1979 British Virgin Islands general election Willard Wheatley United Party (Coalition) Lavity Stoutt VIP General elections were held in

165-543: The party to run for the Virgin Islands Party . The last election in which the VI Democratic Party contested was the 1979 general election , when Dr Osborne ran as a sole candidate in the 5th District, but was defeated by Cyril Romney . This British Virgin Islands –related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a Caribbean political party

SECTION 10

#1732765415557

180-399: The vote are both record lows for a general election in the British Virgin Islands. Candidates who were elected for the first time included future Chief Minister, Cyril Romney , and future Minister, Omar Hodge , who would hold his seat for the next 32 years (the third longest such span in British Virgin Islands politics). The defeat of Q.W. Osborne in the 5th District signalled the end of

195-442: Was Trevor A.F. Peters. Voter turnout was 74.8%. The 1979 general election was the first election to be conducted after the legislature had been expanded from seven to nine elected seats. Three of the nine seats were not contested, with only a single candidate standing in the 3rd, 7th and 8th Districts. For the 3rd District, this was the second consecutive general election where the seat was uncontested. The Virgin Islands Party won

210-412: Was appointed Minister for Natural Resources and Public Health. The subsequent administration appeared not to be a happy one, possibly driven apart by Osborne's own desire to be Chief Minister . Wheatley removed Osborne from his Ministerial post in 1972. The VI Democratic Party splintered, and officially offered no contestants in the 1975 general election . Osborne stood as an independent candidate and

225-572: Was re-elected. Willard Wheatley threw his lot in with the BVI United Party and won, forming a new coalition government and remaining as Chief Minister. Osborne ran again in the 1979 general election , but was easily defeated by Cyril Romney and retired for the first time. In that election he was the only candidate who stood for the VI Democratic Party (by then referred to simply as the Democratic Party), and after his defeat

#556443