At stake in this election:

• 13 seats in the Legislative Council

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Ralph O'NEAL
• Assembly: British Virgin Islands has a unicameral Legislative Council with 13 seats.

* The queen is represented by Governor Boyd MCCLEARY.

Description of electoral system:

• The Queen is the hereditary head of state.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the governor-general.
• In the Legislative Council 13 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies 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.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: National Democratic Party
  • Seats won in last election: 2
• Party: Virgin Islands Party
  • Seats won in last election: 10
• Independent(s): Independents
  • Seats won in last election: 1

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 25,383 (July 2011 est.)
• Registered Voters: 13,352 (November 2011 est.)