Seven of the VIP’s nine candidates who will contest for a district seat have been selected. They include Dr Karl Dawson who will contest the First District seat and Luce Hodge-Smith who will be vying for the Fourth District. Incumbent Fifth District Representative Kye Rymer will be seeking re-election in that constituency; and so too Alvera Maduro Caines and Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley for the Sixth and Seventh electoral districts, respectively.

The party will be fielding former Financial Secretary Allen Wheatley to contest the Eighth Electoral District, while Ninth District Representative Vincent Wheatley will be seeking to retain his seat for the party.

The VIP has not yet ratified its candidates for the Second and Third electoral districts. As for the VIP’s candidates for the Territorial At-Large seats, incumbents Carvin Malone, Sharie de Castro and Neville ‘Sheep’ Smith have all been confirmed to re-contest during the upcoming general elections.

First-term legislator Shereen Flax-Charles, who is also an incumbent At-Large Representative, has not yet been ratified by the party.

According to party leader Dr Wheatley, Flax-Charles’ “paperwork [for ratification] wasn’t filled out according to the provisions of the Virgin Islands Party constitution”. Dr Wheatley said Flax-Charles will have a second chance at ratification at the party’s special meeting at a later time.

The other two outstanding candidates will also be ratified at that time.

The VIP is the only political party to announce its candidates for the 2023 General Elections so far. Elections are constitutionally due by May of this year.