Elections in Montserrat

Elections in Montserrat take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a parliamentary system. The Legislative Assembly is directly elected, and a Chief Minister is selected by the party or coalition with the most seats in the Assembly.

Elections were held in Montserrat in the 19th century, but with a severely limited franchise; in 1837 only 114 of the 7,119 residents of the island were eligible to vote. The partially elected Legislative Assembly dissolved itself in 1866 and was replaced with a wholly appointed body, which remained in place until 1937 when constitutional reforms reintroduced elected members. The reorganised legislature had nine seats; four elected, three held by government officials and two by nominees appointed by the Governor. The first elections in Montserrat in the 20th century took place in the same year.

Universal suffrage was introduced in 1951, and the 1952 elections were the first in which all adults on the island could vote. They saw the Montserrat Labour Party win all five elected seats in the Legislative Council. The MLP subsequently won elections in 1955, 1958, 1961 (when the Council was expanded to seven seats) and 1966.

The 1970 elections saw the new Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) win all seven seats. The PDP also won the 1973 elections, but was defeated in 1978 when the People's Liberation Movement (PLM) won all seven seats. The PLM went on to win the 1983 and 1987 elections.

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