Desire the Right Party

The Desire the Right Party (DRP) was a political party in the Falkland Islands, one of the only political parties in the history of the Falklands, which has traditionally acted as a non-partisan democracy. The other party that existed in the islands was the National Progressive Party, founded on 24 July 1964 and active for a brief time in the 1960s.^[1][2]

Desire the Right Party
Abbreviation	DRP
Chairman	Mike Rendell (1987-1996)
Founded	1987
Dissolved	1996
Headquarters	Stanley, Falkland Islands
Politics of Falkland Islands

History

The party was founded in 1987 under the initiative from Brook Hardcastle and Robert Pitaluga, local farm entrepreneurs.^[3] The party's Constitution was approved in December 1988.^[4]

The name of the party is derived from the motto of the Falklands. The party proposed to maintain the sovereignty under British sphere of influence but allowing more autonomy,^[3] and advocated limited rapprochement with Argentina but received little support from the Falkland Islanders with its candidates not winning any seats in the Legislative Council of the Falkland Islands in the two general elections the party contested.^[5]

The party made a sort of primary election to define the candidates it should present to the 1989 general election.^[6]

Election results

Election	Votes	Percentage	Seats
1989	217	6.98%	0 / 8
1993	139	3.85%	0 / 8

References

1. M. González (2013). The Genesis of the Falklands (Malvinas) Conflict: Argentina, Britain and the Failed Negotiations of the 1960s. Springer. pp. 306–. ISBN 978-1-137-35423-5. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
2. "Falkland Islands National Progressive Party" (PDF). Falkland Islands Monthly Review. November 1964. Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
3. "First Falklands political party" (PDF). Falkland Islands Newsletter. August 1987. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
4. "DRP and the general election" (PDF). Falkland Islands Newsletter. June 1989. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2016.
5. The Europa World Year Book 2004 - Volume II: Kazakhstan - Zimbabwe. Taylor & Francis Group. 2004. pp. 4461–. ISBN 978-1-85743-255-8. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
6. "DRP election candidates" (PDF). Falkland Islands Newsletter. March 1989. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2016.