1699 Legislative Assembly Elections (SSI)
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| Date: | 25-04-1699 | |||
| Constituencies: | Joseph Town, Zuid-Richel, The Camp | |||
| Votes cast: | 6,532 | |||
| Registered voters: | 9,752 | |||
| Voter turnout: | 66.98% | |||
| Result: | 25 MLAs elected | |||
The 1699 Legislative Assembly Elections were held in the South Sea Islands to determine the composition of the Legislative Assembly.
Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are elected for four year terms using the Single Transferable Vote system; all candidates stand as independents in line with the conventional ban on political parties. All South Sea Islands citizens and permanent residents aged 16 or older are eligible to vote, with the exception of those serving custodial prison sentences.
While the high turnout in The Camp constituency that was achieved during the 1695 Legislative Assembly Elections (SSI) was retained, the voter turnout in Joseph Town fell considerably.This led to the establishment of a commission to determine the cause of the widespread disaffection in the constituency.
Controversies
In the run up to the vote, two issues were gained particular traction amongst voters. The first complaint, which was also the most widespread, was the lack of new candidates running for election, with some fearing that the Legislative Assembly might not reflect the changes in society that had occurred during the previous four years. What exactly the changes in question were was very subjective, with different communities advancing their own ideas of what had or had not improved over the years.
The second of the two issues was localised to Joseph Town, and is largely credited with inciting a partial boycott of the vote in the constituency. The complaint centred on the claim that the government was unfairly favouring Zuid-Richel when it came to allocating infrastructure spending, with some claiming that spending on the city's airport and port facilities had led to the diverting of funds allocated to road maintenance elsewhere.
Given this grievance, and the aforementioned lack of new candidates contesting the election, some voters decided to stay away from the polls to express their dissatisfaction.
Results
With all 25 seats contested and a turnout of 66.9%, the elections had the lowest turnout of any modern election in the Commonwealth. This in turn led to fears of disharmony between the two main islands, though these fears were never realised and were generally considered to be media speculation.
Joseph Town
The returning officer for the 1699 Legislative Assembly Elections (Joseph Town constituency) gave notice that the number of votes recorded for each candidate at the said election was as follows:
- Jayce Bain: 89
- Sila Carter: 174 (elected)
- Linton Holt: 126
- Rupert Shannon: 130 (elected)
- Kristián Tomov: 162 (elected)
- Dainton Nunez: 11
- Padraig Payne: 212 (elected)
- Sulayman Daniel: 32
- Sian Dillon: 171 (elected)
For the Joseph Town Constituency; Sila Carter, Rupert Shannon, Kristián Tomov, Padraig Payne and Sian Dillon were therefore duly elected.
Zuid-Richel
The returning officer for the 1699 Legislative Assembly Elections (Zuid-Richel constituency) gave notice that the number of votes recorded for each candidate at the said election was as follows:
- Hans van Hell: 320 (elected)
- Alexandru Mackay: 367 (elected)
- Mischa Blankenship: 281 (elected)
- Kester Senior: 203 (elected)
- Wietse van Leeuw: 328 (elected)
- Ewald Lee: 9
- Kaila Greer: 35
- Dahlia Parkinson: 227 (elected)
- Darrel Dorsey: 311 (elected)
- Mekhi Milner: 9
- Gerry Glover: 10
- Evelina Attwood: 4
- Akshay Trevino: 256 (elected)
- Hans Jansen: 11
- Sietse Grunneger: 275 (elected)
- Reuben Searle: 4
- Amiee Tang: 8
- Aneesa Hayden: 2
- Cameron Pham: 4
- Mallory Field: 2
- Emily-Jane Rudd: 6
- Eleanor Ferguson: 2
- Rhea Baas: 269
- Diana Newman: 2
- Benj van den Berg: 260 (elected)
For the Zuid-Richel Constituency; Hans van Hell, Alexandru Mackay, Mischa Blankenship, Kester Senior, Wietse van Leeuw, Dahlia Parkinson, Darrel Dorsey, Akshay Trevino, Sietse Grunneger and Benj van den Berg were therefore duly elected.
The Camp
The returning officer for the 1699 Legislative Assembly Elections (The Camp constituency) gave notice that the number of votes recorded for each candidate at the said election was as follows:
- Aurelia Koch: 245 (elected)
- Jillian Obrien: 20
- Ruud Moon: 190 (elected)
- Rosalie Iles: 271 (elected)
- Martha Edwards: 150 (elected)
- Ella-Grace O'Doherty: 233 (elected)
- Laura Speight: 219 (elected)
- Alessio Chambers: 190 (elected)
- Mairead Brock: 50
- Arno Jernigan: 222 (elected)
- Arwen Ford: 220 (elected)
- Orlando Beltran: 210 (elected)
For the The Camp Constituency; Aurelia Koch, Ruud Moon, Rosalie Iles, Martha Edwards, Ella-Grace O'Doherty, Laura Speight, Alessio Chambers, Arno Jernigan, Arwen Ford and Orlando Beltran were therefore duly elected.
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly
Although no formal rule or law exists governing the constituency of the Speaker, recent convention has dictated that each constituency takes a turn having the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly elected from among their MLAs. Traditionally the speaker stands unopposed and receives the unanimous support of the Legislative Assembly, although that has not always been the case.
Following the 1691 Legislative Assembly elections, Aurelia Koch of The Camp constituency was elected unopposed.
