His Excellency the Governor Mr. John S. Duncan, OBE today issued the Writs of Election which formally pave the way for the upcoming General Election.

The Writs are formal instructions issued by the Governor in accordance with the Elections Act. They instruct the appointed Returning Offices to carry out their functions on Nomination Day and Polling Day on the given dates. They also instruct the officers to report the election results to the Governor not later than June 9.

According to the Writs, the Governor has appointed Friday, May 22 as Nomination Day and Monday, June 8 as Polling Day. According to the 2011 amendment to the Elections Act of 1994, the final Voters’ List must be published no later than three days following the issuance of the Writs of Election.

 As outlined in the respective Writs, nomination of candidates will take place at the following locations:

            First Electoral District:                                         West End Community Centre

            Second Electoral District:                                    Brewers Bay Community Centre

            Third Electoral District:                                       Valerie O. Thomas Community Centre

            Fourth Electoral District:                                     House of Assembly

            Fifth Electoral District:                                         Enid Scatliffe Pre-Primary School

            Sixth Electoral District:                                        Alexandrina Maduro Primary School

            Seventh Electoral District:                                   Long Look Methodist Church Hall

            Eighth Electoral District:                                      Willard Wheatley Primary School

            Ninth Electoral District:                                        Ashford Waters Community Centre

            Territorial-At-Large Electoral District:                  Sir Rupert Briercliffe Hall

In accordance with section 25(4) of the Elections Act, nomination will take place between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

 With the Nomination Day now set, prospective candidates for the 2015 General Election are reminded of the need to review sections 65 and 66 of the Virgin Islands Constitution Order, 2007 which outline the qualifications and disqualifications for elected membership. 

Section 66 (1)(f) states that no person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly who “is a party to, or a partner in a firm or a director or manager of a company which is a party to, any contract with the Government of the Virgin Islands for or on account of the public service, and has not, within fourteen days before his or her nomination as a candidate for election, published in the Gazette or in a newspaper circulating in the Virgin Islands a notice setting out the nature of such contract and his or her interest, or the interest of such firm or company, in it.”

Candidates who opt to publish notices in the Gazette are hereby notified that the final day to submit the notice to the Cabinet Office for publication is Wednesday, May 20 by 3:00 p.m.

 For further information persons should contact the Office of the Supervisor of Elections at telephone 468-4380 or 468-3701 extension 4380 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The office is located on the ground floor of the Ulric Dawson Building, No. 6, Russell Hill Road, Road Town, Tortola.