Residents of BVI go to polls

by Oscar Ramjeet

Reports Monday, from Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, state that voting was heavy, minutes after the polling stations were opened.

This was more noticeable on the East End of the island, Long Look/Fat Hobs Bay areas and some areas in Road Town and West End.{{more}}

However polling was slow in the sister islands of Virgin Gorda and Anegada, where the population is relatively small.

In the last few days before Monday’s general elections, senior members of the opposition Virgin Islands Party (VIP), and the incumbent National Democratic Party (NDP) were attacking one another, forcing NDP members Archibald Christian and Ronnie Skelton to call on outgoing leader of the VIP Ralph O’Neal, a former premier, to apologize for calling them unfavourable names on the campaign trail.

On the other hand NDP Minister of Education Myron Walwyn continued to attack IP chair Julian Frazer.

Early voting for police officers and other officials was conducted on Friday and according to elections supervisor Juliette Penn, 886 votes were cast – 232 more than the 2011 general elections.

The leaders of both the incumbent NDP and opposition VIP are confident of victory, and political pundits predict a nail-biting finish, with the incumbent party retaining power by a very slim margin.

Details in SEARCHLIGHT Weekend.