A jubilant Reverend Emily Gail Dill held Sandys North for the Progressive Labour Party last night after a four-way contest for the seat.

She won the by-election with 162 votes, closing out a battle widely seen as a political barometer as the island approaches the deadline for the next General Election.

The Parliamentary Registry announced the results for the three other contenders as 108 for Marc Bean for the Free Democratic Movement, followed by independent candidate Ci’re Bean, at 95 votes.

Carl Neblett, of the One Bermuda Alliance, finished with 91 votes.

Dr Dill, a former senator, was joined by David Burt, the Premier, as the final result came in.

She told the crowd at the polling station of Allen Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church Hall: “This is indeed an honour to serve you. I look forward to serving you in the House of Parliament.”

Dr Dill added: “There were four of us running and I am just excited about the fact that we came through victorious.”

Voters throughout the day called on the Allen Temple church hall and some shared views with The Royal Gazette that ranged from weariness with party politics to the need for the winning candidate to address constituents’ concerns.

Last night’s outcome marked the end of a political campaign triggered in August after Sandys North was vacated by the resignation of Kathy Lynn Simmons, the former Attorney-General.

Ms Simmons won the Constituency 36 seat comfortably for the PLP in the October 2020 General Election with 431 votes — almost 60 per cent of the ballot.

Mr Bean came second in that contest with 185 votes, while the OBA’s Jeff Sousa brought up the rear with 114 votes.

Mr Burt, when asked on what came next for the ruling party, said: “Tonight is a celebration and a confirmation that a daughter of Sandys retains the seat for the Progressive Labour Party, and that is the only discussion we will have.”

Mr Burt acknowledged that the triumphant representative was “new on the doorstep”.

He said: “Let’s be clear, there are challenges. But when you have a government committed to working with people, committed to investment, committed to work hard, we are going to continue to serve the people of Sandys North, and the people of Sandys North have an amazing representative.

“I want to congratulate all of the persons who participated in this election. Democracy is alive and well in Bermuda.”

Surrounded by other party colleagues including Deputy Premier Walter Roban, Kim Swan and Jache Adams, Dr Dill said: “I want to take the opportunity to thank the other candidates.

“It has been an interesting journey and we intend to continue to work along with them. I’ve heard almost every one of them say they look forward to working along with us.

“I want to take this opportunity especially to thank the Sandys community and Constituency 36 — the officers, the members of the branch, for their hard work, because I know that I would not have made it without their help.

“I’m really, really excited about what the future holds for us.”

Asked about a drop in support for the PLP — Dr Dill managed to win just 35.5 per cent of the vote compared with the near 60 per cent that Ms Simmons polled for the party in 2020 — Dr Dill said: “That was to be expected. There were four of us running and I’m just excited about the fact that we came through victorious.”

“I know that there are individuals that did not vote for me at a high percentage, of course with a four-horse race, but what I did find were that the people of this constituency are ready to move forward, they want good representation, and I intend to be there for them.”