# 1984 St. Peter by-election

A by-election was held in the Barbadian constituency of the St. Peter on 19 July 1984, and then again on 22 November 1984, after the resignation of Barbados Labour Party member Walter Hinds who was the representative of the constituency in the House of Assembly of Barbados.
The election is notable for being held a second time after the result of the first election was declared null and void by the Supreme Court of Barbados, following BLP candidate Owen Arthur appealing the outcome, due to numerous errors made by election officials. While Democratic Labour Party member Sybil Leacock was declared the winner by one vote in the first election, after the second election, Arthur was declared the winner instead. It is the only time since independence that an election result was overturned.

## Previous election

1981 general election: Saint Peter :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Walter Hinds | Barbados Labour Party | 2,637 | 51.85 |
| | Sybil Leacock | Democratic Labour Party | 2,307 | 45.36 |
| | Everton Green | Independent | 106 | 2.08 |
| | Anthony Wiggens | Independent | 36 | 0.71 |
| Total | Total | Total | 5,086 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 5,086 | 99.32 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 35 | 0.68 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,121 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 6,796 | 75.35 |
| Source: Caribbean Elections, Barbados Electoral and Boundaries Commission |||||

## Results

The initial result on 19 July 1984 was victory for Sybil Leacock who won by a single-vote margin over Owen Arthur with voter turnout of 74.2%. However, after an appeal was launched by Arthur in the election court, the Supreme Court declared the result invalid due to errors made by the election officials and a redo of the election was held on 22 November 1984 where Arthur won the by election with an increased voter turnout of 78.7%.
19 July 1984 By Election for the constituency of Saint Peter (Result overturned by Supreme Court) :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Sybil Leacock | Democratic Labour Party | 2,765 | 49.29 |
| | Owen Arthur | Barbados Labour Party | 2,764 | 49.27 |
| | Glenroy Straughn | Independent | 32 | 0.57 |
| | Martin Cadogan | Independent | 29 | 0.52 |
| | Everton Greene | Independent | 20 | 0.36 |
| Total | Total | Total | 5,610 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 5,610 | 99.34 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 37 | 0.66 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,647 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 7,613 | 74.18 |
| Source: Caribbean Elections, Barbados Electoral and Boundaries Commission |||||
22 November 1984 By Election for the constituency of Saint Peter :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Owen Arthur | Barbados Labour Party | 3,145 | 51.59 |
| | Sybil Leacock | Democratic Labour Party | 2,907 | 47.69 |
| | Martin Cadogan | Independent | 24 | 0.39 |
| | Everton Greene | Independent | 20 | 0.33 |
| Total | Total | Total | 6,096 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 6,076 | 99.69 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 19 | 0.31 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 6,095 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 7,745 | 78.70 |
| | BLP hold | BLP hold | BLP hold | BLP hold |
| Source: Caribbean Elections, Barbados Electoral and Boundaries Commission |||||