Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

By-election may not happen after Fahie misses third House sitting

By-election may not happen after Fahie misses third House sitting

Former Premier Andrew Fahie may soon have to vacate his seat in the House of Assembly (HOA) once he misses a third consecutive sitting, but a by-election that will see him being replaced as First District Representative may not be automatically triggered once that happens.
Fahie currently remains on bond and confined to the home of his two daughters in Florida after being indicted on charges of money laundering and drug smuggling before a Miami court. And according to the rules that govern the HOA, a member shall vacate their seat, if he/she, in any one Session, is absent for more than three consecutive sittings without the written leave of the Speaker. HOA Speaker Corine George-Massicote said she will not grant Fahie this permission to be absent from any future sittings of the House under his existing circumstances.

With that in mind, Dr Wheatley stated last month that a by-election would held within sixty days of Fahie vacating his seat but the Premier has now indicated that this hasn’t always been the case in the past. He suggested that Fahie’s First District seat in the HOA may remain unfilled for months to come if recent precedent is to be followed.

“I want to look at the specific language, in the Elections Act to see whether there’s any discretion,” the Premier told reporters recently in response to questions on whether a by-election will be triggered once Fahie’s seat is automatically vacated.

“I believe there are previous instances where by-elections were not held right away. The last instance, of course, was the late Dolores Christopher where they held off on a by-election and went straight to general elections,”

The Premier further noted that there were other instances where a by-election was not immediately triggered, pointing to the tragic death of another former Legislative Council Member, Robinson O’Neal, who died in the late 1960s while in office.

“I believe in 1968 or sometime after the 1967 election where the late member of the House of Assembly O’Neal passed away in a car accident and it did not immediately trigger a by-election,” Premier Wheatley explained.

“So, I have to check and see what is discretion there for the governor to be able to have a by-election or not, but generally a by-election should be held after the seat is vacated; I believe, within about sixty days,” the Premier said.

General elections are due in the BVI early in 2023, but candidates going to the polls may be contingent on whether current government officials are able to adequately implement the ongoing Commission of Inquiry (COI) recommended reforms and stave off the threat of direct United Kingdom rule in the process, as initially recommended by the COI report.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
India and Pakistan Agreement on Ceasefire Amid Ongoing Tensions
Arsenal Stages Comeback to Draw 2-2 Against Liverpool in Premier League Clash
Trump's Upcoming Visit to Gulf Nations: Investment and Security at the Forefront
Rodrigo Duterte Awaits Trial at The Hague. Next week he might be elected mayor of his hometown
Trump fires director of U.S. Copyright Office, sources say
Retired British police officer arrested over ‘thought crime’ tweet
Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected as Pope Leo XIV, Marking a Historic Papacy
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Arrested at ICE Facility Amid Congressional Visit
India-Pakistan conflict may be first test for Chinese military tech
Bill Gates Announces Plan to Wind Down Philanthropic Foundation and Disperse Wealth
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
×