# 1961 General Election (20 April 1961)

URL: https://allhistories.com/saint-vincent-and-the-grenadines/timeline/1961-1961-general-election
Location: Kingstown, Saint Vincent
Themes: main-event

The 1961 election was the first held under the new constitution that provided for a Chief Minister, and the number of elected seats rose from eight to nine. Ebenezer Joshua's People's Political Party defended its record in government against Milton Cato's Saint Vincent Labour Party, which had grown into a serious challenger with strong support in Kingstown and among the middle class. On 20 April 1961 turnout rose to 77 per cent of the roughly 31,000 voters. The PPP won 11,500 votes (49.3 per cent) and six seats, while the SVLP won 11,164 votes (47.9 per cent) and three seats, losing the popular vote by only 336 votes. Independents were almost wiped out, winning only a few hundred votes and no seats. Joshua continued as Chief Minister and took the portfolio of finance, while Ivy Joshua was re-elected for North Windward. The election confirmed the emergence of a two-party system that would shape Vincentian politics for decades, with the PPP and the SVLP closely matched. Joshua's victory came as the West Indies Federation was entering its final crisis after Jamaica's referendum vote to secede later that year. At this point in the timeline (20 April 1961), the Queen of the United Kingdom (sovereign of the colony of Saint Vincent) was Elizabeth II (6 February 1952 – 27 October 1979); the Administrator of Saint Vincent was Samuel Horatio Graham (1961 – 1966). Government: the Chief Minister of Saint Vincent was Ebenezer Joshua (9 January 1960 – 30 May 1967).

## Why it matters
It established the close two-party contest between the PPP and the SVLP.

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

Administrator of Saint Vincent: Samuel Horatio Graham
Chief Minister of Saint Vincent: Ebenezer Joshua (People's Political Party (PPP))

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — 1961 Vincentian general election](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961_Vincentian_general_election)
- [Wikipedia — People's Political Party (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Political_Party_(Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines))
- [Caribbean Elections — Saint Vincent and the Grenadines](https://caribbeanelections.com/vc/)
- [Wikipedia — Self-Government And The Road To Independence (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Saint_Vincent_and_the_Grenadines)