1937 Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla general election

General elections were held in Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla on 24 June 1937, the first since the 1870s.^[1] The Workers' League nominated two candidates, Thomas Manchester and Edgar Challenger, both of whom were elected.^[2]

Background

The St Kitts Legislature was suspended in 1877, after which the colony was ruled by an appointed body. In December 1934 the Legislative Council debated reintroducing elected members, but the idea was rejected.^[1] However, following riots in St Kitts the following year, it was decided to restore elected members to the council.^[1]

Electoral system

The Council had five elected members, with each island acting as a constituency; St Kitts returned three members, whilst Anguilla and Nevis returned one each.^[1] The right to vote was restricted to those over the age of 21 who had an income of at least £30 per annum, owned property with a value of at least £100, paid at least £12 of rent per year, or had paid at least 15 shillings of direct tax in the previous year.^[1] As a result, there were a total of 1,629 registered voters; 1,168 in St Kitts, 328 in Nevis and 133 in Anguilla.^[3]

Results

Constituency	Candidate	Party	Votes	%	Notes
Anguilla	Albert Elliot Owen		Unopposed		Elected
Nevis	Hubert Henville		188	60.84	Elected
Nevis	T W Deane		121	39.16
St Kitts	Clermont Malone		934	31.71	Elected
	Thomas Manchester	Workers' League	800	27.16	Elected
	Edgar Challenger	Workers' League	635	21.56	Elected
	W H Walwyn		346	11.75
	P E Ryan		230	7.81

Total ballots cast			1,312	100
Registered voters/turnout			1,495	87.76
Source: O'Flaherty^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Brief History of the Electoral Process in Anguilla Central Electoral Office
^ History Archived 2015-07-13 at the Wayback Machine St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party
^ Brian Dyde (2005) Out of the Crowded Vagueness: A history of the islands of St Kitts, Nevis & Anguilla, Macmillan Caribbean, p251
^ Victoria Borg O'Flaherty (2004) 20th century election results in St. Kitts - Nevis, The National Archives, pp3–4

[EO-1] Brief History of the Electoral Process in Anguilla Central Electoral Office

[2] History Archived 2015-07-13 at the Wayback Machine St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party

[3] Brian Dyde (2005) Out of the Crowded Vagueness: A history of the islands of St Kitts, Nevis & Anguilla, Macmillan Caribbean, p251

[4] Victoria Borg O'Flaherty (2004) 20th century election results in St. Kitts - Nevis, The National Archives, pp3–4

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v t e Elections and referendums in Anguilla
General elections	1937 1940 1943 1946 1952 1957 1961 1966 1967 1968 1971 1972 1975 1976 1980 1981 1984 1989 1994 1999 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
West Indies elections	1958
Referendums	1967 1969

v t e Elections and referendums in Saint Kitts and Nevis
General elections	1937 1940 1943 1946 1952 1957 1961 1966 1971 1975 1980 1984 1989 1993 1995 2000 2004 2010 2015 2020 2022
West Indies elections	1958
See also: Elections and referendums in Nevis