Prior to 1967 there had been no political parties in the British Virgin Islands.[1] The election was therefore contested by three, newly created, political parties:[1]
- The BVI United Party, led by Conrad Maduro
- The VI Democratic Party, led by Qwominer William Osborne
- The People's Own Party, led by Isaac Fonseca
The BVI United Party contested all seven available seats. The other two parties only contested five seats each. Lavity Stoutt had been elected each year since 1957. Dr Osborne had been elected during the previous election in 1963. Isaac Fonseca was the political veteran having been elected in every single election held in the Territory, commencing with the first in 1950.
The result was a victory for the BVI United Party which won an overall majority of four seats.[1] However, the party President, Conrad Maduro, did not win a seat and so was unable to become Chief Minister despite leading the party with the highest number of seats. Accordingly, Lavity Stoutt was appointed as the first Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands.[1] The VI Democratic Party won two seats, with the People's Own Party winning the remaining seat. The most closely contested seat between the two parties with a plurality of seats[4] was the Seventh District (Anegada and Virgin Gorda), which Robinson O'Neal won for the BVI United Party by a mere 13 votes over Reeial George for VI Democratic Party.[1] If just seven voters in that district had voted the other way, the VI Democratic Party would have won, and Q.W. Osborne would have been the first Chief Minister. As the results turned out, he had to settle for being the first leader of the opposition. Similarly, if Conrad Maduro had secured a few more votes then he might have been the first Chief Minister. However, as it happened the 1967 election effectively launched a long and successful career for Lavity Stoutt, who would end up being elected Chief Minister five times.
Voter turnout was a relatively high 72.3% with only 5 spoiled ballots in the entire country.[1] The Supervisor of Elections was initially D.K.H. McIntyre, but he had to retire on grounds of ill-health and was replaced by Lionel W. Barker on 27 February 1967.[1]
More information Party, Votes ...
Party | Votes | % | Seats |
---|
| United Party | 1,094 | 42.78 | 4 |
| VI Democratic Party | 800 | 31.29 | 2 |
| People's Own Party | 663 | 25.93 | 1 |
Total | 2,557 | 100.00 | 7 |
|
Valid votes | 2,557 | 99.80 | |
---|
Invalid/blank votes | 5 | 0.20 | |
---|
Total votes | 2,562 | 100.00 | |
---|
Registered voters/turnout | 3,500 | 73.20 | |
---|
Source: BVI Deputy Governor's Office[1] |
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By constituency
Results for the individual electoral districts were as follow:[1]
First Electoral District
More information Candidate, Party ...
Candidate |
Party |
Votes |
Percentage |
H. Lavity Stoutt |
BVI United Party |
221 |
57.0% |
Austin Cameron |
VI Democratic Party |
167 |
43.0% |
Close
Second Electoral District
More information Candidate, Party ...
Candidate |
Party |
Votes |
Percentage |
Ivan Dawson |
BVI United Party |
171 |
49.4% |
George A. Christopher |
VI Democratic Party |
139 |
40.2% |
Arthur P. Roberts |
People's Own Party |
36 |
10.4% |
Close
Third Electoral District
More information Candidate, Party ...
Candidate |
Party |
Votes |
Percentage |
Leopold Smith |
VI Democratic Party |
125 |
37.7% |
Zagoul H. M. Butler |
People's Own Party |
117 |
35.2% |
Stanford Connor |
BVI United Party |
90 |
27.1% |
Close
Fourth Electoral District
More information Candidate, Party ...
Candidate |
Party |
Votes |
Percentage |
Q.W. Osborne |
VI Democratic Party |
216 |
50.3% |
Arnando Scatliffe |
People's Own Party |
147 |
34.3% |
Howard R. Penn |
BVI United Party |
66 |
15.4% |
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Fifth Electoral District
More information Candidate, Party ...
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Sixth Electoral District
More information Candidate, Party ...
Candidate |
Party |
Votes |
Percentage |
Terrance B. Lettsome |
BVI United Party |
229 |
57.7% |
Bernard Penn |
People's Own Party |
168 |
42.3% |
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Seventh Electoral District
More information Candidate, Party ...
Candidate |
Party |
Votes |
Percentage |
Robinson O'Neal |
BVI United Party |
166 |
52.0% |
Reeial George |
VI Democratic Party |
153 |
48.0% |
Close
Lavity Stoutt was appointed as first Chief Minister and first Minister for Education. Q.W. Osborne was appointed as the First Leader of the Opposition. Ivan Dawson, despite not being a member of the BVI United Party, was appointed first Minister for National Resources and Public Health.[1]
Future Chief Minister, Cyril Romney, was also appointed as the first Native BVIslander to act as Financial Secretary after the election.[1]