1971 Barbadian general election

1971 Barbadian general election

← 1966 9 September 1971 1976 →

24 seats in the House of Assembly
13 seats needed for a majority
Turnout81.62% (Increase1.92pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Errol Barrow Bernard St. John
Party DLP BLP
Last election 14 seats 8 seats
Seats won 18 6
Seat change Increase4 Decrease2
Popular vote 53,295 39,376
Percentage 57.40% 42.41%
Swing Increase7.84pp Increase9.81pp

Results by constituency

Prime Minister before election

Errol Barrow
DLP

Elected Prime Minister

Errol Barrow
DLP

General elections were held in Barbados on 9 September 1971.[1] Amendments to the electoral system saw the two-member constituencies previously used replaced by single-member first-past-the-post constituencies.[2] This was also the first election in modern Barbadian history to be contested by only two political parties, not including two independent candidates.[3]

The result was a victory for the Democratic Labour Party, which won 18 of the 24 seats. Despite achieving a larger increase in vote share than its opponent, the Barbados Labour Party lost two seats and its leader, Harold Bernard St. John, was defeated in his constituency of Christ Church South Central.[4] Voter turnout was 81.6%, the highest in the country's history.[1]

  1. ^ a b Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p90 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
  2. ^ Nohlen, p92
  3. ^ "Barbados General Election Results - 9 September 1971". Caribbean Elections. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  4. ^ Caribbean Elections