Edmund G. Maduro during Nomination Day in October 2011. Nomination Day for the 2023 General Elections in the Virgin Islands is April 13, 2023, the Office of the Supervisor of Elections has announced. Photo: VINO/File

A timeline for key activities for General Elections 2023. Photo: GIS

Additionally, Advance Polling will be on Thursday, April 20, 2023, and the last day for submission of applications to vote on Advance Polling Day is April 13, 2023.

It has already been announced that General Elections in the Virgin Islands is Monday, April 24, 2023.

Nomination of candidates

According to Section 25 of the Elections Act, every candidate for election must be nominated by at least two registered voters of the electoral district for which such candidate seeks election and his or her consent to nomination shall be given on such nomination paper and attested by one witness; and such candidate shall swear to an affidavit that he or she is, to the best of his or her knowledge, not disqualified under the provisions of the Constitution from contesting.

$500 nomination fee can be forfeited!

Meanwhile, Section 26 of the Elections Act states that a candidate for election, or someone on his [or her] behalf, shall deposit with the returning officer, on or before the day of his nomination, the sum of five hundred dollars, and, if he or she fails to do so, the nomination of such candidate shall be deemed to be withdrawn.

It also states that if a candidate who has made such deposit is not elected, and the number of votes polled by him – (a) in an election in a local electoral district does not exceed one-eighth of the total number of votes polled in the election in that district; 13 (b) in an election in the Territorial electoral district does not exceed such proportion of the number of votes polled in that election as is determined by the application of the formula, the amount deposited shall be forfeited to the Crown.