Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Still no set date for elections as VI enters February 2023

Still no set date for elections as VI enters February 2023

As the Virgin Islands enters the second month of 2023, Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) still has not declared an election date for 2023, even after being questioned by Virgin Islands News Online (VINO).

The Premier in a recent statement; however, said his government intends to tackle as much legislation ahead of the 2023 elections.

He was at the time delivering remarks in a statement on January 26, 2023, in the House of Assembly.

As the Virgin Islands enters the second month of 2023, Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr the Hon Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) still has not declared an election date for 2023, even after being questioned by Virgin Islands News Online (VINO).

Gov't tackling legislation - Dr Wheatley

“With the General Elections constitutionally due by May of this year, the House of Assembly will have to be dissolved by March of this year. While the Government of National Unity will attempt to tackle as much of the legislative work that is possible before elections, we recognise the challenges to see the full legislative programme through.”

He said what that means is that the 5th House of Assembly and the Government will be in a position to carry forward the baton when it is handed over and to proceed with ample pace.

Meanwhile, the Premier said the VI has been making tremendous progress with the CoI recommendations; however, there are some areas where the Government would have liked to have seen further advancement.

“Madam Speaker, the Government of National Unity and I have always been forthwith in admitting that the timelines proposed in the Framework were ambitious. We recognise, and I know the Virgin Islands community agrees, that for what is at stake and the benefits that will accrue from strengthening our governance systems and processes, it is necessary, and it will be worth it for us to push ourselves a bit harder,” he said.

Adjustments to be made - Premier

Premier Wheatley added that the Government recognises that as the work rolls out and emergent issues and unforeseen circumstances arise, they would have to make adjustments.

“With the delay in commencing the public information and consultation process for the Constitutional Review, as well as some administrative delays, the Chair of the Constitutional Review Commission has requested the full 18 months instead of the initial 12 months to complete the process,” he said.

The Premier detailed that another factor that must be looked at closely is the timeframe required for drafting new policies and legislation, now that through the ongoing work, the scope of the legislative component of the reforms is becoming clearer.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×