2009 Antiguan general election explained

Type:parliamentary
Country:Antigua and Barbuda
Election Date:12 March 2009
Previous Year:2004
Next Year:2014
Seats For Election:All 17 seats in the House of Representatives
Majority Seats:9
Turnout:80.27% (10.92pp)
Outgoing Members:12th legislature of Antigua and Barbuda#Members
Elected Members:13th legislature of Antigua and Barbuda#Members
Leader1:Baldwin Spencer
Image1:BaldwinSpencer (cropped).jpg
Party1:United Progressive Party (Antigua and Barbuda)
Seats1:9
Seat Change1: 3
Popular Vote1:21,239
Percentage1:50.95%
Swing1: 4.55pp
Leader2:Lester Bird
Party2:ALP
Seats2:7
Seat Change2: 3
Popular Vote2:19,657
Percentage2:47.16%
Swing2: 5.22pp
Leader3:Trevor Walker
Image3:Trevor Walker in 2010.jpg
Party3:BPM
Seats3:1
Popular Vote3:474
Percentage3:1.14%
Swing3: 0.12pp
Prime Minister
Posttitle:Subsequent Prime Minister
Before Election:Baldwin Spencer
Before Party:UPP
After Election:Baldwin Spencer
After Party:UPP

General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 12 March 2009. The result was a victory for the United Progressive Party, which won nine of the seventeen elected seats in the House of Representatives.

Conduct

Three days before the elections the Chamber of Commerce announced observations of voter registration irregularities and called for an investigation into the matter. For example, in the Saint Peter constituency, voter registration increased by 41%.[1]

A three-member observation team from Belize, Canada, and Guyana observed the election.[2]

Aftermath

On 31 March 2010, a judge nullified the election of UPP's leader Spencer and two other UPP MPs, calling the UPP's majority into question.[3] However, on 24 October the Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court overturned the High Court's decision and decided that the three MPs were duly elected.[4]

Notes and References

  1. News: Chamber of Commerce questions Antigua's voters list . https://archive.today/20120721081215/http://www.caribbean360.com/News/Caribbean/Stories/2009/03/09/NEWS0000007015.html . dead . 2012-07-21 . 2009-03-09 . Caribbean 360 . 2009-03-09 .
  2. News: Three-member Commonwealth team in Antigua-Barbuda to observe elections . Ramjeet . Oscar . 2009-03-09 . Caribbean Net News . 2009-03-09 .
  3. http://www.caribbeanelections.com/ag/elections/ag_results_2009.asp Antigua and Barbuda General Election Results - 12 March 2009
  4. https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/western-hemisphere-region/24-antigua-barbuda-1981-present/ 33. Antigua & Barbuda (1981-present)