1991 Barbadian general election

1991 Barbadian general election

22 January 1991
28 seats in the House of Assembly 15 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	63.72% (12.98pp)
First party Second party   Leader Erskine Sandiford Henry Forde Party DLP BLP Last election 24 seats 3 seats Seats won 18 10 Seat change 6 7 Popular vote 59,900 51,789 Percentage 49.77% 43.03% Swing 9.68pp 2.66pp
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election Lloyd Erskine Sandiford DLP Elected Prime Minister Lloyd Erskine Sandiford DLP

General elections were held in Barbados on 22 January 1991 to elect all 28 members (MPs) of the House of Assembly of Barbados. The result was a victory for the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP), which won 18 of the 28 seats. The opposition Barbados Labour Party led by Henry Forde won ten seats, an increase of seven compared to the 1986 elections. Voter turnout was 63.7%. DLP leader Lloyd Erskine Sandiford remained Prime Minister.

This was the first general election contested by the National Democratic Party (NDP), which had been founded in 1989 by four defecting DLP MPs, led by the former finance minister Richard Haynes. Despite polling nearly 7% of the national vote, all four lost their seats and no new NDP members were elected under Barbados' first-past-the-post electoral system.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Democratic Labour Party	59,900	49.77	18	–6
	Barbados Labour Party	51,789	43.03	10	+7
	National Democratic Party	8,218	6.83	0	New
	Independents	445	0.37	0	0
Total		120,352	100.00	28	+1
Valid votes		120,352	98.90
Invalid/blank votes		1,344	1.10
Total votes		121,696	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		191,000	63.72
Source: Nohlen