Barbados General Election Results 1999

Updated:

Barbados General Election Results - 20 January 1999

General elections were held in Barbados on 20 January 1999. Elections were held for all 28 seats in the House of Assembly using a first-past-the-post system.

Electoral System

The 28 members of the House of Assembly were elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting. There was no fixed election date in effect in Barbados at this time; hence, the choice of election date is the prerogative of the Prime Minister.

Political Parties & Candidates

A total of 58 candidates contested the election. The two major parties - the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) - led by Owen Artur, and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) - led by David Thompson - both presented a full slate of 28 candidates. Arthur, an economist, was 49 years old, while Thompson, a prominent lawyer, was 37. There were also 2 independent candidates.

Background

On 26 December 1998, Writs were issued appointing Nomination Day as Tuesday, 5 January 1999 and Wednesday, 20 January 1999 as Election Day. On 28 December 1998, the Governor-General appointed 14 January 1999 as the Polling Day for the Foreign Service Electors and Special Polling Day for Election Officers.

There were 204,307 registered electors; 96,421 males and 107,886 females.

Election Campaign

During the brief election campaign, the BLP pointed to its solid performance in the economic sector which had led to steady growth (especially in the key tourism industry) and a sharp drop in unemployment since the party had come to power in 1994. The opposition countered by focusing on the crime rate and drug-related violence. Other issues debated concerned family values and Mr. Arthur's push for a regional political union designed to give the eastern Caribbean a greater role in global trade.

In the 1999 elections, the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) of Prime Minister Owen Arthur was once again mainly opposed by the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) headed by David Thompson.

Results

On polling day, the electorate showed its approval of the government's impressive record by giving it 26 of the 28 House seats - a gain of seven. The DLP, for its part, lost six seats, including that of former Prime Minister Erskine Sandiford who lost his seat by 1,224 votes to the 2,137 of the BLP's Noel Lynch. Only Thompson, winning in St John, and Denis Kellman, a businessman, who retained his St Lucy seat, survived the BLP landslide.

On 25 January 1999, a new 15-member Cabinet headed by the popular Mr. Arthur was sworn in.

Voter Turnout

Voter turnout was 63.36%.

ELECTORAL SYSTEM

System	First-past-the-post

Elected Members	28 single-member constituencies

VOTER TURNOUT

Total Valid Votes

128,630

Invalid Votes

820

Total Votes Cast

129,450

Registered Voters

204,307

Voter Turnout

63.36%

CRITICAL DATES

Dissolution of House	Sat, 26 Dec 1998

Nomination Day	Tue, 5 Jan 1999

Polling Day	Wed, 20 Jan 1999

First Meeting of Parliament	Tue, 16 Feb 1999

POLITICAL LEADERS

		Owen ARTHUR Barbados Labour Party (BLP)

		David THOMPSON Democratic Labour Party (DLP)

BY THE NUMBERS

BLP
	28 candidates
	26 seats
	83,445 votes (64.9%)

DLP
	28 candidates
	2 seats
	45,118 votes (35.1%)

IND

Independent Candidates

2 candidates

0 seats

67
votes (0.05%)

SEATS

15 seats for a majority

BLP

26 seats (+7)

PARTY MANIFESTOS

BLP 1999 Manifesto

SUMMARY RESULTS

Party	Code	Votes			Candidates	Seats
Party	Code	Total	% votes	Change	Candidates	Number	Change
Barbados Labour Party	BLP	83,445	64.87%	+16.53%	28	26	+7

Democratic Labour Party	DLP	45,118	35.08%	-3.26%	28	2	-6

Independent Candidates	IND	67	0.05%	-0.51%	2	0	-
Total Valid Votes		128,630	100%	-	58	28	+1

ELECTED MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY

Constituency	Representative	Party
City of Bridgetown	MILLER, Billie Antoinette	Barbados Labour Party

St. Michael South	LYNCH, Noel A.	Barbados Labour Party

St. Michael East	PRESCOD, Trevor A.	Barbados Labour Party

St. Michael South Central	GILL, David	Barbados Labour Party

St. Michael Central	ROETT, Ishmael	Barbados Labour Party

St. Michael South East	LASHLEY, Hamilton	Barbados Labour Party

St. Michael North East	MOTTLEY, Mia Amor	Barbados Labour Party

St. Michael North	TOPPIN, Ronald	Barbados Labour Party

St. Michael North West	WILLIAMS, Mark Z.	Barbados Labour Party

St. Michael West	ATHERLEY, Joseph J.S.	Barbados Labour Party

St. Michael West Central	MARSHALL, Rommell D.	Barbados Labour Party

Christ Church West	FORDE, Henry deBoulay	Barbados Labour Party
Christ Church West Central	EDGHILL, Joseph M.	Barbados Labour Party

Christ Church South	ST. JOHN, Harold Bernard	Barbados Labour Party

Christ Church East Central	CARTER, Duncan	Barbados Labour Party

Christ Church East	FARLEY, Reginald R.	Barbados Labour Party

St. Philip North	GREENIDGE, Rudolph N.	Barbados Labour Party

St. Philip South	WOOD, Anthony P.	Barbados Labour Party

St. George North	CLARKE , Gline A.	Barbados Labour Party

St. George South	TULL, Louis Randall	Barbados Labour Party

St. John	THOMPSON, David John Howard	Democratic Labour Party

St. Joseph	CHELTENHAM, Richard L.	Barbados Labour Party

St. Thomas	SIMMONS, David A.C.	Barbados Labour Party

St. James North	EASTMOND, Rawle C.	Barbados Labour Party

St. James South	THOMPSON, Hemrietta Elizabeth	Barbados Labour Party

St. Peter	ARTHUR, Owen Seymour	Barbados Labour Party

St. Andrew	PAYNE, George Walton	Barbados Labour Party

St. Lucy	KELLMAN, Denis St. Elmo	Democratic Labour Party

SUMMARY BY CONSTITUENCY, CANDIDATE, AND PARTY

Constituency	Candidate	Party	Votes	%Votes
City of Bridgetown	BILLIE A. MILLER	BLP	2,558	76.29%
City of Bridgetown	Abdul Pandor	DLP	795	23.71%

St. Michael South	NOEL A. LYNCH	BLP	2,137	62.65%
St. Michael South	Lloyd E. Sandiford	DLP	1,274	37.35%

St. Michael East	TREVOR A. PRESCOD	BLP	2,465	58.10%
St. Michael East	Joseph O. Tudor	DLP	1,778	41.90%

St. Michael South Central	DAVID T. GILL	BLP	2,511	63.81%
	Richard L. Sealy	DLP	1,393	35.40%
	Carl Haddock	IND	31	0.79%

St. Michael Central	ISHMAEL ROETT	BLP	2,436	64.14%
St. Michael Central	Christopher P. Sinckler	DLP	1,362	35.86%

St. Michael South East	HAMILTON LASHLEY	BLP	3,542	79.60%
St. Michael South East	Delisle O. Bradshaw	DLP	908	20.40%

St. Michael North East	MIA A. MOTTLEY	BLP	3,393	79.69%
St. Michael North East	Leroy H. McClean	DLP	865	20.31%

St. Michael North	RONALD TOPPIN	BLP	3,358	70.13%
St. Michael North	Ralph A. Thorne	DLP	1,430	29.87%

St. Michael North West	MARK Z. WILLIAMS	BLP	1,902	50.38%
St. Michael North West	Clyde A. Mascoll	DLP	1,873	49.62%

St. Michael West	JOSEPH J.S. ATHERLEY	BLP	2,155	58.31%
St. Michael West	Branford M. Taitt	DLP	1,541	41.69%

St. Michael West Central	ROMMELL D. MARSHALL	BLP	2,527	62.81%
St. Michael West Central	Derek McD. Alleyne	DLP	1,496	37.19%

Christ Church West	HENRY DeB. FORDE	BLP	2,952	76.12%
Christ Church West	Peter A. Barrow	DLP	926	23.88%

Christ Church West Central	JOSEPH M. EDGHILL	BLP	2,515	60.10%
	Rudy W. Grant	DLP	1,634	39.04%
	Edwin L. Adams	IND	36	0.86%

Christ Church South	HAROLD B. ST. JOHN	BLP	2,659	59.95%
Christ Church South	John D.E. Boyce	DLP	1,776	40.05%

Christ Church East Central	DUNCAN CARTER	BLP	3,227	60.03%
Christ Church East Central	Wendell C.C. Callender	DLP	2,149	39.97%

Christ Church East	REGINALD R. FARLEY	BLP	3,231	57.19%
Christ Church East	Tyrone C. Estwick	DLP	2,419	42.81%

St. Philip North	RUDOLPH N. GREENIDGE	BLP	3,378	60.97%
St. Philip North	David C. Estwick	DLP	2,162	39.03%

St. Philip South	ANTHONY P. WOOD	BLP	3,643	59.81%
St. Philip South	Freundel J. Stuart	DLP	2,448	40.19%

St. George North	GLINE A. CLARKE	BLP	3,948	79.45%
St. George North	Patrick Carter	DLP	1,021	20.55%

St. George South	LOUIS R. TULL	BLP	3,100	61.34%
St. George South	Hartley H. Henry	DLP	1,954	38.66%

St. John	DAVID J.H. THOMPSON	DLP	2,955	65.07%
St. John	Joycelyn P. Thorington	BLP	1,586	34.93%

St. Joseph	RICHARD L. CHELTENHAM	BLP	2,715	57.15%
St. Joseph	Randall DaC. Rouse	DLP	2,036	42.85%

St. Thomas	DAVID A.C. SIMMONS	BLP	3,687	76.19%
St. Thomas	George A. Pilgrim	DLP	1,152	23.81%

St. James North	RAWLE C. EASTMOND	BLP	3,732	78.26%
St. James North	Michael A. Carrington	DLP	1,037	21.74%

St. James South	HENRIETTA E. THOMPSON	BLP	3,879	63.40%
St. James South	Kerrie D. Symmonds	DLP	2,239	36.60%

St. Peter	OWEN S. ARTHUR	BLP	4,422	83.20%
St. Peter	Yvonne V. Walkes	DLP	893	16.80%

St. Andrew	GEORGE W. PAYNE	BLP	3,524	79.21%
St. Andrew	Denis S. Lowe	DLP	925	20.79%

St. Lucy	DENIS St.E. KELLMAN	DLP	2,677	54.19%
St. Lucy	Gray E.N. Brome	BLP	2,263	45.81%

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BY-ELECTIONS

St. Lucy By-election 1954

St. Joseph By-election 1958

St. John By-election 1958

City of Bridgetown By-election 1969

St. Joseph By-election 1970

St. Philip North By-election 1976

City of Bridgetown By-election 1976

St. Michael South Central By-election 1978

St. Peter By-election 1984

St. Thomas By-election 1985

St. John By-election 1987

St. Michael North West By-election 1996

St. Thomas By-election 2001

St. John By-election 2011

POLITICAL PARTIES

Bajan Free Party

Barbados Integrity Movement

Barbados Labour Party

Democratic Labour Party

Kingdom Government of Barbados

People's Democratic Congress

Solutions Barbados

United Progressive Party

PARTY MANIFESTOS

BLP 2018 Manifesto

DLP 2018 Manifesto

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SUMMARY BY CONSTITUENCY AND PARTY

Constituency	Registered	BLP	DLP	IND	Total Valid	Invalid Votes	Total Votes	Turnout
City of Bridgetown	6,046	2,558	795	-	3,353	27	3,380	55.90%

St. Michael South	5,873	2,137	1,274	-	3,411	25	3,436	58.51%

St. Michael East	6,568	2,465	1,778	-	4,243	30	4,273	65.06%

St. Michael South Central	6,283	2,511	1,393	31	3,935	16	3,951	62.88%

St. Michael Central	5,938	2,436	1,362	-	3,798	23	3,821	64.35%

St. Michael South East	6,788	3,542	908	-	4,450	23	4,473	65.90%

St. Michael North East	6,449	3,393	865	-	4,258	44	4,302	66.71%

St. Michael North	7,719	3,358	1,430	-	4,788	40	4,828	62.55%

St. Michael North West	6,277	1,902	1,873	-	3,775	30	3,805	60.62%

St. Michael West	6,058	2,155	1,541	-	3,696	19	3,715	61.32%

St. Michael West Central	6,521	2,527	1,496	-	4,023	43	4,066	62.35%

Christ Church West	6,867	2,952	926	-	3,878	24	3,902	56.82%

Christ Church West Central	7,204	2,515	1,634	36	4,185	29	4,214	58.50%

Christ Church South	7,710	2,659	1,776	-	4,435	18	4,453	57.76%

Christ Church East Central	8,649	3,227	2,149	-	5,376	26	5,402	62.46%

Christ Church East	8,419	3,231	2,419	-	5,650	35	5,685	67.53%

St. Philip North	8,517	3,378	2,162	-	5,540	37	5,577	65.48%

St. Philip South	9,474	3,643	2,448	-	6,091	31	6,122	64.62%

St. George North	7,468	3,948	1,021	-	4,969	27	4,996	66.90%

St. George South	7,622	3,100	1,954	-	5,054	36	5,090	66.78%

St. John	7,433	1,586	2,955	-	4,541	25	4,566	61.43%

St. Joseph	7,131	2,715	2,036	-	4,751	31	4,782	67.06%

St. Thomas	7,877	3,687	1,152	-	4,839	24	4,863	61.74%

St. James North	7,788	3,732	1,037	-	4,769	25	4,794	61.56%

St. James South	9,532	3,879	2,239	-	6,118	25	6,143	64.45%

St. Peter	7,798	4,422	893	-	5,315	45	5,360	68.74%

St. Andrew	6,867	3,524	925	-	4,449	35	4,484	65.30%

St. Lucy	7,431	2,263	2,677	-	4,940	27	4,967	66.84%
Total	204,307	83,445	45,118	67	128,630	820	129,450	63.36%

Key

Bajan Free Party	NDP = National Democratic Party	United Progressive Party
Barbados Integrity Movement	People's Democratic Congress	WPB = Workers Party of Barbados
Barbados Labour Party	PEP = People's Empowerment Party	Independent Candidate
Democratic Labour Party	PPA = People's Political Alliance	*incumbent
Kingdom Government of Barbados	Solutions Barbados	** Political Leader

Sources

Barbados Electoral and Boundaries Commission

Bajan Free Party (2018). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/Bajan-Free-Party-BFP-HonAlex-MitchellEl-1767331239973521/

Barbados Integrity Movement (2018). Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/barbdaosintegritymovement/?ref=py_c

Barbados Labour Party. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.blp.org.bb/

Coalition of United Party. (2018) Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/alexmitchell.el/

Democratic Labour Party. (2018). Retrieved from http://dlpbarbados.org/site/

Solutions Barbados. (2018). Retrieved from https://solutionsbarbados.com/

United Progressive Party. (2018). Retrieved from https://uppbarbados.org/

Inter-Parliamentary Union. (2018). Barbados. Retrieved from http://archive.ipu.org/parline/reports/2025_E.htm

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