Election 2019: When will HoA be dissolved?
The HoA will meet again on Friday, December 28, 2018, but speculations are that there might be one more sitting in early January 2019, and after that, the VI could see the HoA being dissolved by January 7, 2019.
However, both Co-Leaders of Government Hon Myron V. Walwyn (AL) and outgoing Premier Dr the Hon D. Orlando Smith (AL) are tight-lipped on an election date.
Mr Walwyn who is struggling to recover from a stinging investigation on a wall he commissioned around the Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) in which the Auditor General Ms Sonia M. Webster concluded, “persons were paid and work not done”, “prices were inflated”, and there was “no value for money”, as “laws were broken” does not have a full slate of candidates.
The wall report is in the hands of the police for further action.
February election date?
Premier Smith—who has endorsed Walwyn as leader of the NDP1—is likely to wait until the Education and Culture Minister gets his act together before announcing a date. Mr Walwyn promised to announce his candidates “after the holidays.”
Others are saying that elections will be on February 18, 2019, a USVI holiday, Presidents’ Day.
Thus far, there are four official political parties announced for the upcoming general elections, besides NDP1 there is a breakaway group NDP2, called the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM) headed by a fired Health and Social Development Minister, Hon Ronnie W. Skelton (AL).
There is also Progressives United (PU) a party headed by Hon Julian Fraser RA (R3) and the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) headed by former Opposition Leader Hon Andrew A. Fahie (R1).
In fact, the VIP is the only party with a full slate of 13 candidates. There is also expected to be a number of independent candidates contesting the 2019 General Elections.
Coalition government?
Many political pundits are also predicting a coalition government, as they don’t see any of the political parties getting a straight seven to form a government. The last time the Territory had a coalition government was in 1983 led by late Chief Minister, Cyril B. Romney (R5) and it collapsed by 1986.
With the airways beginning to be filled with political commercials, and the streets of the islands with big billboards and campaign posters, one thing we can agree on, ‘election fever’ is in the air.
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