Barbuda People's Movement Explained

The Barbuda People's Movement is a left-wing Barbudan nationalist political party in Antigua and Barbuda active only on the island of Barbuda. The party's symbol is the European fallow deer, national animal of Barbuda.^{[3] [4]} The party seeks the secession of Barbuda from Antigua and Barbuda. The party is allied with the United Progressive Party.

History

The party first contested a general election in 1989, in which they won a single seat.^[5] They held the seat in the 1994 and 1999. In the 2004 elections the candidates of the BPM (Trevor Walker) and the Barbuda People's Movement for Change both won 400 votes. In a rerun of the election on 20 April Walker received 408 votes, whilst BPMC candidate Arthur Nibbs won only 394. The party retained the seat again in the 2009 elections.

Barbuda’s secession request

The government is taking the unprecedented step of presenting the matter to the Parliament after it received a letter from the Barbuda Council requesting that discussions commence on the separation of Barbuda from Antigua.

In the letter dated 31 August 2020, Council Secretary Paul Nedd informed Cabinet Secretary Konata Lee that the Barbuda Council wished to secede from Antigua in order to determine a separate future for Barbuda and its people.^[6]

Electoral results

House of Representatives

Election	Party leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Government
1989	Hilbourne Frank	304	1.37		New	4th
1994		367	1.35		0	3rd
1999		418	1.26		0	3rd
2004	Trevor Walker	400	1.01		0	3rd
2009		474	1.14		0	3rd
2014		484	1.13		1	3rd
2018		558	1.43		1	4th
2023		624	1.46		0	3rd

Barbuda Council

Election		Leaders	Votes			Seats		Position	Government
			No.	%	±	No.	±
	1979[7]	Hilbourne Frank				[8]	New	1st
	1981							1st
	1983							1st
	1985								[9]
	1987							1st
	1989							1st
	1991/1992							1st
	1993/1994							1st
	1996							2nd
	1997							1st
	1999							1st
	2001							1st
	2003							1st
	2005	Trevor Walker	1,988	53.96		[10]		1st
	2007					[11] [12]		1st
	2009					[13] [14]		1st
	2011		1,679[15]	48.78				1st
	2013		1,994	46.49		[16]		2nd
	2015					[17]	2	2nd
	2017		2,983[18]	51.66		[19]	2	2nd
	2019						4	1st
	2021		2,303[20] [21] [22]	63.18			0	1st
	2023		2,636[23]	63.85			2	1st

Notes and References

1. Web site: Barbuda People's Movement (BPM).
2. Web site: Caribbean Elections | Barbuda People's Movement.
3. Web site: From Icon of Empire to National Emblem: the Fallow Deer of Barbuda.
4. Web site: Antigua Election 2023: ABEC releases party symbols for Jan 18 polls | Loop Caribbean News. Loop News.
5. Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, pp69-70
6. Web site: 2020-09-11. Barbuda's secession request goes to Parliament. 2021-04-06. Antigua News Room. en-US.
7. Web site: THE BARBUDA LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT CHAPTER 44 . 2022-01-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220119230904/http://laws.gov.ag/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/cap-44.pdf . 19 January 2022 . dead.
8. Web site: Pat. 2012-08-19. ALP candidates announced for March 2013 Council election. 2022-01-24. Barbudaful. en-GB. The Barbuda Council has been controlled by the BPM since the first election was held around 35 years ago. The ALP gained control for a brief period in 1996..
9. Book: Banks . Arthur S. . Day . Alan J. . Muller . Thomas C. . Political Handbook of the World 1998 . Springer . en . 1 February 2016. 9781349149513 .
10. Web site: pj67admin. 2005-03-23. Barbuda Council Election Day. 2022-01-01. Barbudaful. en-GB.
11. Web site: pj67admin. 2007-03-01. Barbuda Council elections. 2022-01-01. Barbudaful. en-GB.
12. Web site: pj67admin. 2007-03-23. Barbudan Council Election Results. 2022-01-01. Barbudaful. en-GB.
13. Web site: pj67admin. 2013-01-08. Result of the BPM Primaries. 2022-01-01. Barbudaful. en-GB.
14. Web site: Caribbean Elections Members of the Senate of Antigua and Barbuda 2009 - 2014. 2022-01-01. www.caribbeanelections.com. 2022-01-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20220101233151/http://www.caribbeanelections.com/knowledge/parliament/ag_parliament/ag_senate_2009.asp. dead.
15. Web site: pj67admin. 2011-04-04. Barbuda Council Election Results. 2022-01-01. Barbudaful. en-GB.
16. Web site: pj67admin. 2013-02-18. The Results. 2022-01-01. Barbudaful. en-GB.
17. Web site: 2015-03-25. BPM are back - two more seats in Council. 2022-01-01. Barbudaful. en-GB.
18. Web site: barbudaful. 2017-03-30. BPM bring back Council. 2022-01-01. Barbudaful. en-GB.
19. Web site: 2017-03-29. It's done … time to move on. 2022-01-01. Antigua Observer Newspaper. en-GB.
20. Web site: Clean Sweep for BPM. 30 March 2021.
21. Web site: barbudaful. 2021-03-18. Council elections March 29th 2021. 2022-01-01. Barbudaful. en-GB.
22. Web site: Barbuda Council Elections 2021 Results. live. 2022-01-04. www.abec.gov.ag. https://web.archive.org/web/20220104034456/http://www.abec.gov.ag/election-cycle/election_results/Barbuda_Council_Elections/2021_council_elections.php . 2022-01-04 .
23. Web site: Simon . Samantha . 2023-04-01 . Barbuda People’s Movement celebrates the victory of its 4 candidates in the Barbuda Council election on 29th March 2023. . 2023-04-01 . Antigua Observer Newspaper . en-GB.