General elections were held in

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...

on 9 December 1974.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

(2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p600 The result was a victory for the

Saint Vincent Labour Party The Saint Vincent Labour Party was a social democratic political party in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from 1955 to 1994. It was the ruling party from 1967 to 1972 and again from 1974 until 1984. History The party was established in 1955. Nohle ...

, which won ten of the 13 seats. Voter turnout was 63.2%.

Background

After the 1972 elections, the People's Political Party (PPP) and the

(SVLP) both won six seats. The People's Political Party (PPP) managed to form a government with the support of the remaining MP James Mitchell, who won reelection as an independent after resigning from the SVLP. The "Alliance Government" was formed with Mitchell as

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

and PPP leader Ebenezer Joshua as Deputy Premier and Minister of Finance. On 18 September 1974, the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible g ...

passed a

motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

; Ebenezer and Ivy Joshua had just resigned from the government due to policy disagreements with Mitchell. The Assembly was then dissolved on 23 September 1974. Nomination day was 18 November 1974.

Candidates

A total of 31 candidates were nominated by five different political parties. Out of the parties in the Assembly, the SVLP had the largest contingent with eleven candidates. Mitchell and PPP minister Othniel Sylvester founded a splinter party and nominated eleven candidates, while the PPP nominated only three candidates. In addition, two new political parties contested the elections. The Democratic Freedom Movement was founded by Kenneth John to advocate for political reforms such as

recall elections A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of office has ended. Recalls ...

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...

, and campaign financing regulation; it nominated two candidates. The West Indies National Party was led by George Hamilton Charles, founder of the Eighth Army of Liberation and former Majority Leader of the Legislative Council (1951–1957); the party nominated four candidates (including Charles).

Results

The SVLP won a decisive victory with ten seats, giving party leader Milton Cato his second term as Premier. Mitchell was the only successful candidate from his new party, and the Joshuas were the only successful PPP candidates. While Ebenezer Joshua joined the government as Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Ivy Joshua decided to remain in opposition rather than support a coalition with the SVLP. She then became Leader of the Opposition instead of Mitchell. In

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

, Ebenezer and Ivy had become the first married couple to be elected to a parliament of the

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were the territories in the West Indies under British Empire, British rule, including Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Antigua and Barb ...

; now they became the first couple to serve on opposite benches.

References

{{Saint Vincent and the Grenadines elections Saint Vincent Elections in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

General election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

Vincentian general election