1703 Legislative Assembly Elections (SSI)
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| Date: | 23-04-1703 | |||
| Constituencies: | Joseph Town, Zuid-Richel, The Camp | |||
| Votes cast: | 9,200 | |||
| Registered voters: | 9,752 | |||
| Voter turnout: | 93.33% | |||
| Result: | 25 MLAs elected | |||
The 1703 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.
Controversies
The election of 1699 was marred by low turnout, with voters citing a lack of new candidates and uneven infrastructure spending as their main reasons for abstaining from voting. Discussions regarding this, particularly the lack of new candidates, spanned much of the assembly's term, with various proposals for term limits being put forward.
While no term limit regulations were ever put to the vote, the perceived public pressure lead to a large number of voluntary retirements among MLAs when their terms ended. This in turn led to fears that too much knowledge and experience was being lost.
Results
With all 25 seats contested and a turnout of 93.33%, the elections were broadly viewed as a success, with a repeat of the low turnout experienced in 1699 avoided. Additionally, the 1703 election produced the youngest ever MLA, with 18 year old Hinke van Bergen being elected to represent The Camp.
Joseph Town
The returning officer for the 1703 Legislative Assembly Elections (Joseph Town constituency) gave notice that the number of votes recorded for each candidate at the said election was as follows:
- Finley Williams: 333
- Stanley Patel: 401 (elected)
- Leonard Riley: 483 (elected)
- Jason Baxter: 420 (elected)
- Brayden Ball: 350
- Maxwell Smith: 465 (elected)
- Max Dixon: 490 (elected)
For the Joseph Town Constituency; Stanley Patel, Leonard Riley, Jason Baxter, Maxwell Smith and Max Dixon were therefore duly elected.
Zuid-Richel
The returning officer for the 1703 Legislative Assembly Elections (Zuid-Richel constituency) gave notice that the number of votes recorded for each candidate at the said election was as follows:
- Wietse van Leeuw: 521 (elected)
- Laurens Hoogenkamp: 475 (elected)
- Mathijs Tijhoff: 323 (elected)
- Ton Koolhof: 457 (elected)
- Sjef Helderink: 450 (elected)
- Albert-Jan van Vliet: 270 (elected)
- Gertjan Snippen: 41
- Kacper Watson: 390 (elected)
- Nico Cooke: 240
- Angus Powell: 100
- Xander Newman: 89
- Koby Doyle: 154
- William Walsh: 340
- Edward Johnston: 92
- Oakley Sharp: 310 (elected)
- Luis Thomas: 59
- Laurens-Jan Bootsma: 242
- Mathijs Rakhorst: 421 (elected)
- Henk-Jan Keppelink: 274 (elected)
- Lennaert van Driessen: 116
- Roelof Geerdink: 250
- Coen Koerselman: 111
For the Zuid-Richel Constituency; Wietse van Leeuw, Laurens Hoogenkamp, Mathijs Tijhoff, Ton Koolhof, Sjef Helderink, Albert-Jan van Vliet, Kacper Watson, Oakley Sharp, Mathijs Rakhorst and Henk-Jan Keppelink were therefore duly elected.
The Camp
The returning officer for the 1703 Legislative Assembly Elections (The Camp constituency) gave notice that the number of votes recorded for each candidate at the said election was as follows:
- Hinke van Bergen: 200 (elected)
- Kit Morris: 15
- Ronan Jordan: 89
- Fraser Campbell: 121 (elected)
- Aryan Armstrong: 108
- Teun Esses: 125 (elected)
- Jochum Broeks: 170 (elected)
- Willem van den Poll: 149 (elected)
- Ewoud Hoenink: 56
- Jurrien Boele: 117 (elected)
- Nard Deerns: 230 (elected)
- Theun Weijers: 200 (elected)
- Huug van de Bospoort: 152 (elected)
- Klaas-Jan Boschman: 92
- Eduard Ward: 111 (elected)
- Cayden Black: 65
- Maxwell Hunter: 20
- Dillon Dawson: 102
- Isaac Thompson: 66
- Luke Reid: 32
For the The Camp Constituency; Hinke van Bergen, Fraser Campbell, Teun Esses, Jochum Broeks, Willem van den Poll, Jurrien Boele, Nard Deerns, Theun Weijers, Huug van de Bospoort and Eduard Ward 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, Leonard Riley of Joseph Town constituency was elected unopposed.
