Shereen Flax-Charles Plans At-Large Run With NDP

Former legislator Shereen Flax-Charles intends to seek an At-Large candidacy with the National Democratic Party (NDP) ahead of the next General Election.

However, Flax-Charles stressed that she cannot formally declare herself a candidate until she completes the party’s internal selection process.

“I can’t give you a declaration quite yet. However, I am in the running. I’m hoping to have one of the At-Large seats as a candidate with the NDP,” she said on the Talking Points radio programme on September 21.

Flax-Charles explained that prospective candidates must be nominated and face a vote, a similar selection process existed when she was a member of the Virgin Islands Party (VIP).

“So, that is my intention, to be successful in that area,” she stated.

Flax-Charles was elected as a VIP At-Large Representative in 2019 after receiving 4,033 votes.

She later left the VIP and contested the Ninth District for the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement (PVIM) in 2023. She received 239 votes and lost to incumbent Vincent Wheatley, who secured 491 votes.

PVIM was formed in 2018 following a split from the NDP.

Referring to her return to the NDP fold, Flax-Charles said: “PVIM has now merged with the NDP, so we are one and the same.”

People Before Party

Flax-Charles said political parties remain important in the Virgin Islands, but argued that party affiliation alone cannot secure electoral victory.

“There are other factors: your integrity, your morals, the way you respond to the public and so forth. And so, for me, that is what I am about,” she said.

She also rejected claims that she is not a team player, explaining that she would not support a party position she believed was against the public’s interest.

“I think it is my duty and my obligation to the people to say that I don’t agree with that, and I will not be able to vote for that,” Flax-Charles stated.

She said some people disliked that approach during her time in the House of Assembly, while others respected her willingness to defend the public.

Flax-Charles also acknowledged that supporters were disappointed when she chose the Ninth District instead of defending an At-Large seat in 2023. She said residents on Tortola have since expressed excitement over the possibility of her returning to the political arena as an At-Large candidate.