# General Election of 1999 (1999)

URL: https://allhistories.com/antigua-and-barbuda/timeline/1999-general-election-of-1999
Location: St. John's, Antigua
Themes: main-event

Lester Bird's first term had been marked by the devastation of Hurricane Luis, the Ivor Bird drugs case, the Guiana Island controversy and growing international concern about offshore banking. The opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) under Baldwin Spencer, now well organised, expected to make gains. At the general election of 9 March 1999 the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) won 12 of the 17 seats, gaining one, while the UPP won four with about 44.5 per cent of the vote and the Barbuda People's Movement held Barbuda. Lester Bird was reconfirmed as Prime Minister and brought his brother Vere Bird Jr. back into the Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture, despite the 1990 recommendation that he never again hold public office. The UPP refused to accept the result, citing a bloated and outdated voters' list, the government's control of broadcasting and the use of state resources in the campaign. An independent report concluded that the election had been neither free nor fair and that the UPP could conceivably have won a majority in a fair contest. Pressure for electoral reform led to the creation of an Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission in 2001, ahead of the 2004 election that the UPP won. At this point in the timeline (9 March 1999), the Queen of Antigua and Barbuda was Elizabeth II (6 February 1952 – 8 September 2022); the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda was Sir James Carlisle (10 June 1993 – 30 June 2007). Government: the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda was Lester Bird (9 March 1994 – 24 March 2004).

## Why it matters
The disputed 1999 election extended Bird rule but fuelled the demands for electoral reform that preceded the change of government in 2004.

Ruler at the Time: [Elizabeth II](https://allhistories.com/antigua-and-barbuda/rulers/elizabeth-ii)

Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda: Sir James Carlisle
Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda: Lester Bird (Antigua Labour Party (ALP))

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — 1999 Antiguan general election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Antiguan_general_election)
- [Caribbean Elections](https://www.caribbeanelections.com/)
- [Wikipedia — Lester Bird](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lester_Bird)
- [Wikipedia — Independence And The Bird Era (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigua_and_Barbuda)