At stake in this election:

• 13 seats in the Legislative Council

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II*
• Head of Government: Chief Minister Ralph T. O'Neal
• Assembly: British Virgin Islands has a unicameral Legislative Council with 15 seats.

* The queen is represented by Governor Boyd MCCLEARY.

Description of electoral system:

• The Queen is hereditary head of state.
• Premier is appointed by the governor-general.
• In the Legislative Council, 9 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms, 4 members are elected in multi-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms and 2 members are filled ex officio to serve 4-year terms.**

** Of the 13 members, one member is elected from each of 9 electoral districts and there are four at-large members. Each voter has 5 votes. The Speaker and Attorney General serve ex officio.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: National Democratic Party (NDP)
  • Leader: Orlando Smith
  • Seats won in last election: 5
  • Seats won in this election: 8
• Party: Virgin Islands Party (VIP)
  • Leader: Ralph T. O'Neal
  • Seats won in last election: 7
  • Seats won in this election: 5

Last parliamentary election:

• The last election to the Legislative Council was held on May 17, 1999.

Population and voter registration:

• Population: 22,187 (July 2004 est.)
• Registered Voters: 10,180 (2003)