1971 Barbadian general election

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]

1971 Barbadian general election

9 September 1971
24 seats in the House of Assembly 13 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	81.62% (1.92%)
Leader Errol Barrow Bernard St. John Party DLP BLP Leader's seat St. John Christ Church South Central (Defeated) Last election 14 seats 8 seats Seats won 18 6 Seat change 4 2 Popular vote 53,295 39,376 Percentage 57.40% 42.41% Swing 7.84% 9.81%
Prime Minister before election Errol Barrow DLP Elected Prime Minister Errol Barrow DLP

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]

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Democratic Labour Party	53,295	57.40	18	+4
	Barbados Labour Party	39,376	42.41	6	–2
	Independents	174	0.19	0	0
Total		92,845	100.00	24	0
Valid votes		92,845	98.75
Invalid/blank votes		1,174	1.25
Total votes		94,019	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		115,189	81.62
Source: Nohlen

References

1. Nohlen, D (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. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
4. Caribbean Elections