Politics of the British Virgin Islands
Encyclopedia
Politics of the British Virgin Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary
representative democratic
dependency
, whereby the Premier is the head of government
, and of a multi-party system
. The British Virgin Islands
are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom
. The United Nations
Committee on Decolonization includes the islands on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories
. The Constitution of the Islands was introduced in 1971 and amended in 1979, 1982, 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2007. Executive power
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government
and the Legislative Council
. The Judiciary
is independent of the executive and the legislature. Military defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom
.
A new constitution was made in 2007 (the Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007) and came into force after the Legislative Council was dissolved for the 2007 general election
.
|Elizabeth II
|
|6 February 1952
|-
|Governor
|William Boyd Mccleary
|
|20 August, 2010
|-
|Premier
|Ralph T. O'Neal
|VIP
|20 August 2007
|}
The Governor is appointed by the Monarch. The Premier (formerly Chief Minister) is appointed by the Governor from among the members of the Legislative Council, and is by parliamentary convention the leader of the party holding the largest number of seats. The cabinet, the Executive Council, is appointed by the Governor from among the elected members of the Legislative Council.
The British Virgin Islands elects on territorial level a legislature
. The House of Assembly (formerly Legislative Council) has 15 members, 13 members elected for a four year term, 9 of them in single-seat constituencies and 4 at large, one ex officio member
and one speaker chosen from outside the council.
in the mid-1990s. The rationale behind their introduction was that there was a risk that constituency seats can become too closely tied to a particular local figure, and that if a certain number of local figures join the same political party, then the voters have no real choice in selection of their government. Under the proposals any person in the Territory could stand as an at large candidate, and each voter would have four at large votes in addition to their constituency vote. The four at large candidates who received the highest total number of votes would be elected to the Legislative Council.
The proposals were strongly opposed by Lavity Stoutt
, the Chief Minister of the day; he arranged for the entire Territory to be polled to ascertain how the voters felt about new rules being "foisted" upon them by the FCO in London, and then later flew to London with an entire delegation (including the Attorney General
) to try and dissuade them. Despite this opposition the at large seats were introduced.
Although Lavity Stoutt died prior to the first election with at large seats in 1998, his fears proved to be well founded; his Virgin Islands Party
was returned to power under the leadership of Ralph T. O'Neal
in 1998, but with a much reduced majority. In the next election in 2002, the Virgin Islands was swept from power by the National Democratic Party
led by Orlando Smith
. In both the 1998 and 2002 elections Orlando Smith stood as an at large candidate and received the highest number of votes of any candidate.
danny cordero 7
, consists of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court). Furthermore there is a Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; and a Court of Summary Jurisdiction.
, ECLAC (associate), Interpol
(subbureau), IOC
, OECS
(associate), UNESCO
(associate)
Parliamentary system
A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
representative democratic
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
dependency
Dependent territory
A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State, and remains politically outside of the controlling state's integral area....
, whereby the Premier is the head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
, and of a multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
. The British Virgin Islands
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...
are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Committee on Decolonization includes the islands on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories
United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories
The United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories is a list of countries that, according to the United Nations, are non-decolonized. The list was initially prepared in 1946 pursuant to Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter, and has been updated by the General Assembly on recommendation...
. The Constitution of the Islands was introduced in 1971 and amended in 1979, 1982, 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2007. Executive power
Executive Power
Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
and the Legislative Council
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"—one ex-officio member and one Speaker chosen from outside the house.The first...
. The Judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
is independent of the executive and the legislature. Military defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
A new constitution was made in 2007 (the Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007) and came into force after the Legislative Council was dissolved for the 2007 general election
British Virgin Islands general election, 2007
The British Virgin Islands general election, 2007 was held in the British Virgin Islands on 20 August 2007. The result was a landslide victory for the opposition Virgin Islands Party over the incumbent National Democratic Party ....
.
Executive branch
|Queen|Elizabeth II
|
|6 February 1952
|-
|Governor
Governor of the British Virgin Islands
The Governor of the British Virgin Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of British Virgin Islands. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government...
|William Boyd Mccleary
|
|20 August, 2010
|-
|Premier
|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...
|VIP
Virgin Islands Party (British Virgin Islands)
The Virgin Islands Party is a political party in the British Virgin Islands, led by Premier Ralph T. O'Neal.The Virgin Islands Party has held power in the British Virgin Islands for all except for 15 years since the adoption of the modern Legislative Council in 1967. It was originally formed by...
|20 August 2007
|}
The Governor is appointed by the Monarch. The Premier (formerly Chief Minister) is appointed by the Governor from among the members of the Legislative Council, and is by parliamentary convention the leader of the party holding the largest number of seats. The cabinet, the Executive Council, is appointed by the Governor from among the elected members of the Legislative Council.
Legislative branch
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
. The House of Assembly (formerly Legislative Council) has 15 members, 13 members elected for a four year term, 9 of them in single-seat constituencies and 4 at large, one ex officio member
Ex-officio member
An ex officio member is a member of a body who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term is Latin, meaning literally "from the office", and the sense intended is "by right of office"; its use dates back to the Roman Republic.A common misconception is that the participatory rights...
and one speaker chosen from outside the council.
"At large" seats
The 4 at large seats are a comparatively recent innovation in British Virgin Islands politics. They were introduced under some pressure from the British Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeForeign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
in the mid-1990s. The rationale behind their introduction was that there was a risk that constituency seats can become too closely tied to a particular local figure, and that if a certain number of local figures join the same political party, then the voters have no real choice in selection of their government. Under the proposals any person in the Territory could stand as an at large candidate, and each voter would have four at large votes in addition to their constituency vote. The four at large candidates who received the highest total number of votes would be elected to the Legislative Council.
The proposals were strongly opposed by Lavity Stoutt
Lavity Stoutt
Hamilton 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...
, the Chief Minister of the day; he arranged for the entire Territory to be polled to ascertain how the voters felt about new rules being "foisted" upon them by the FCO in London, and then later flew to London with an entire delegation (including the Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
) to try and dissuade them. Despite this opposition the at large seats were introduced.
Although Lavity Stoutt died prior to the first election with at large seats in 1998, his fears proved to be well founded; his Virgin Islands Party
Virgin Islands Party (British Virgin Islands)
The Virgin Islands Party is a political party in the British Virgin Islands, led by Premier Ralph T. O'Neal.The Virgin Islands Party has held power in the British Virgin Islands for all except for 15 years since the adoption of the modern Legislative Council in 1967. It was originally formed by...
was returned to power under the leadership of 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...
in 1998, but with a much reduced majority. In the next election in 2002, the Virgin Islands was swept from power by the 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....
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...
. In both the 1998 and 2002 elections Orlando Smith stood as an at large candidate and received the highest number of votes of any candidate.
List of Members
2007-present| Name | Party | Member of | First elected | Title | Previous Roles | Constiuency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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... OBE |
VIP | Government | 1977-present | Leader and Premier | Chief Minister and Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Social Services | Council Member for the Ninth District |
| Dancia Penn Dancia Penn Ruth Dancia Penn, OBE, QC is a British Virgin Islands politician and former deputy governor of the British Virgin Islands from September 20, 2004 to April 1, 2007... OBE, QC, LLB, BA |
VIP | Government | 2007-present | Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Social Development | Court of Appeal Judge (Acting), Deputy Governor and Attorney General | Member for the Eighth District |
| Keith Lancelot Flax | VIP | Government | 1983, 2007-present | Deputy Speaker of the Council | Speaker of the Council | Council Member (Territorial At-Large) |
| J. Alvin Christopher | VIP | Government | 1995-present | Government Backbencher | Minister for Natural Resources and Labour and Minister for Communications and Works | Council Member for the Second District |
| Andrew A. Fahie | VIP | Government | 1999-present | Minister of Education and Culture | Minister for Education, Culture and Youth Affairs and Parliament Private Secretary | Council Member for First District |
| Julian Fraser RA | VIP | Government | 1999-present | Minister of Communications and Works | Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Communications and Works and Minister for Natural Resources and Labour | Council Member for the Third District |
| Dr Vincent G. Scatliffe RA, RN | VIP | Government | 2007-present | Government Backbencher | Council Member for the Forth District | |
| Elvis J. Harrigan | VIP | Government | 2007-present | Government Backbencher | Council Member for the Fifth District | |
| Omar W. Hodge | VIP | Government | 1979-1988, 2003-present | Minister of Natural Resources and Labour | Deputy Speaker, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Natural Resources and Labour | Council Member for the Sixth District |
| Irene Penn-O'Neal | VIP | Government | 2007-present | Government Backbencher | Territorial At-Large | |
| Vernon E. Malone QPM | VIP | Government | 2007-present | Government Backbencher | Territorial At-Large | |
| Dr 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... OBE, MD |
NDP National Democratic Party The National Democratic Party could refer to* Afar National Democratic Party* Kamerun National Democratic Party* National Democratic Party * National Democratic Party * National Democratic Party... |
Opposition | 1999-present | Leader of the Opposition | Chief Minister | Territorial (At-Large) Member |
| Kedrick D. Pickering | NDP National Democratic Party The National Democratic Party could refer to* Afar National Democratic Party* Kamerun National Democratic Party* National Democratic Party * National Democratic Party * National Democratic Party... |
Opposition | 1999-present | Government Backbencher | Member for the Seventh District | |
| Roy Harrigan | None | Independent | 2007-present | Speaker of the Council | Appointed | |
| Kathleen D.K. Quartey | None | Independent | 2007-present | Attorney General | Chief State Attorney of Ghana | Appointed |
Political parties and elections
Judicial branch
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme CourtEastern Caribbean Supreme Court
The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court is a superior Court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States , including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and three British...
, consists of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court). Furthermore there is a Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; and a Court of Summary Jurisdiction.
International organization participation
Caricom (associate), CDBCaribbean Development Bank
The Caribbean Development Bank is a financial institution which assists Caribbean nations in financing social and economic programs in its member countries...
, ECLAC (associate), Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
(subbureau), IOC
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
, OECS
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States , created in 1981, is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance between countries and dependencies in the Eastern Caribbean...
(associate), UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
(associate)