1963 Bermudian general election

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1963 Bermudian general election

Bermuda held general elections on 16 May 1963. It was the first election under the new Parliamentary Election Act, and parties could compete.

Structure: Bermuda has nine parishes. Each parish was divided into two constituencies, and each constituency elected two members. This created 36 seats in the House of Assembly. A majority required 19 seats.

Results: Independents won 30 of the 36 seats. The Progressive Labour Party (PLP), formed about three months before the election, won 6 seats, all of the nine it contested.

Franchise and voting: The new Act introduced universal suffrage but raised the voting age from 21 to 25. The Watlington Amendment gave landowners with rateable property a second vote in their home constituency.

Voter numbers: 14,896 people were registered. Of those, 8,207 could cast only a single vote and 6,689 could cast a second vote.