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Elections in Montserrat take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and aparliamentary system. TheLegislative Assembly is directly elected, and aChief Minister is selected by the party or coalition with the most seats in the Assembly.
Elections were held inMontserrat 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 theGovernor.[3] Thefirst elections in Montserrat in the 20th century took place in the same year.
Universal suffrage was introduced in 1951,[4] and the1952 elections were the first in which all adults on the island could vote. They saw theMontserrat Labour Party win all five elected seats in theLegislative Council. The MLP subsequently won elections in1955,1958,1961 (when the council was expanded to seven seats) and1966.
The1970 elections saw the newProgressive Democratic Party (PDP) win all seven seats. The PDP also won the1973 elections, but was defeated in1978 when thePeople's Liberation Movement (PLM) won all seven seats. The PLM went on to win the1983 and1987 elections.
The1991 elections were won by theNational Progressive Party, which won four of the seven seats. The1996 elections resulted in ahung parliament, with thePeople's Progressive Alliance (PPA) andMovement 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 the2001 elections as a result of thevolcanic 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 theNew People's Liberation Movement (NPLM), which took seven of the nine seats. The2006 elections resulted in another hung parliament, and although theMovement for Change and Prosperity (MCAP) emerged as the largest party with four seats, the NPLM and theMontserrat Democratic Party formed a coalition government together with the sole independent MP. Although the NPLM held three seats and the MDP one, MDP leaderLowell Lewis became Chief Minister.
The2009 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 thefirst elections to the new body in 2014, the MCAP was defeated by the newPeople'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]
