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Elections in Montserrat take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a parliamentary system. The Legislative Assembly is directly elected, and a Chief Minister is selected by the party or coalition with the most seats in the Assembly.
Elections were held in Montserrat 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. [1] The partially elected Legislative Assembly dissolved itself in 1866 and was replaced with a wholly appointed body, [2] 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. [3] The first elections in Montserrat in the 20th century took place in the same year.
Universal suffrage was introduced in 1951, [4] and the 1952 elections were the first in which all adults on the island could vote. They saw the Montserrat Labour Party win all five elected seats in the Legislative Council. The MLP subsequently won elections in 1955, 1958, 1961 (when the council was expanded to seven seats) and 1966.
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 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, with the People's Progressive Alliance (PPA) and Movement for National Reconstruction (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. [5] The elections were won by the New People's Liberation Movement (NPLM), which took seven of the nine seats. The 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 formed a coalition government together with the sole independent MP. Although the NPLM held three seats and the MDP one, MDP leader Lowell Lewis 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, which won seven seats.
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. [5] The island is split into six polling divisions for vote counting. [6]
The New People's Liberation Movement was a political party in Montserrat led by John Osborne.
The National Progressive Party (NPP) was a political party in the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat led by Reuben Meade.
Reuben Theodore Meade is a retired politician from Montserrat who served as the island's first Premier between 2010 and 2014. He previously served as Chief Minister between 1991 and 1996 and 2009 to 2010. A member of the Movement for Change and Prosperity (MCAP), he previously led the now-defunct National Progressive Party.
The Montserrat Democratic Party (MDP) was a political party in Montserrat.
The Movement for Change and Prosperity (MCAP) is a political party in Montserrat.
General elections were held in Montserrat on 8 October 1991. The result was a victory for the National Progressive Party (NPP), which won four of the seven seats in the Legislative Council. NPP leader Reuben Meade became Chief Minister.
General elections were held in Montserrat on 2 April 2001. The result was a victory for the New People's Liberation Movement (NLPM), which won seven of the nine seats in the Legislative Council. NLPM leader John Osborne became Chief Minister.
General elections were held in Montserrat on 31 May 2006. Although the Movement for Change and Prosperity (MCAP) won the most seats in the Legislative Council, the government was formed by a coalition of the Montserrat Democratic Party (MDP), the New People's Liberation Movement (NPLM) and an independent council member, who together held five seats. MDP leader Lowell Lewis became Chief Minister.
General elections were held in Montserrat on 11 September 2014. The result was a victory for the newly established People's Democratic Movement, which won seven of the nine elected seats in the Legislative Assembly.
General elections were held in Montserrat on 15 December 1970. The result was a victory for the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), which won all seven seats in the Legislative Council, whilst the Montserrat Labour Party (MLP), which had won every election since the introduction of universal suffrage in 1951, lost all four of its seats. PDP leader Percival Austin Bramble became Chief Minister, replacing his father and MLP leader, William Henry Bramble.
General elections were held in Montserrat in February 1983. The result was a victory for the People's Liberation Movement (PLM), which won five of the seven seats in the Legislative Council. PLM leader John Osborne remained Chief Minister.
The Montserrat Labour Party (MLP) was a political party in Montserrat.
The Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) was a political party in Montserrat.
The People's Liberation Movement (PLM) was a political party in Montserrat.
The People's Progressive Alliance (PPA) was a political party in Montserrat led by John Osborne.
The Movement for National Reconstruction (MNR) was a political party in Montserrat led by Bertrand Osborne.
General elections were held in Montserrat on 18 November 2019 for the nine elected seats in the Legislative Assembly. The result was a victory for the opposition Movement for Change and Prosperity, which won five of the nine elected seats.
Margaret (Annie) Dyer-Howe was a Montserratian politician and businesswoman, who was the second woman to be appointed as a government minister in the Legislative Assembly of Montserrat. She held a number of ministries during her two periods as an elected representative, including as Minister for Education and Social Affairs, Minister for Trade, Agriculture, Lands, Housing and the Environment and Minister of Finance. She also co-founded the Montserrat Labour Party.
Adelina E. Tuitt is a Montserratian politician who served in the Legislative Council of Montserrat from 1996 until 2001. She was the territory's Minister of Health, Education, and Community Services, in the wake of the volcanic eruptions of the 1990s, which devastated the southern half of the island. A member of the Movement for National Reconstruction party, Tuitt represented the Eastern constituency.
