There was cheers from friends and family as Progressive Labour Party candidate Alexa Lightbourne emerged victorious from the Devonshire North West polling station at Prospect Primary.

She received 300 ballots in Constituency 14 with 47.69 per cent of the vote.

David Rogers of the One Bermuda Alliance received 204 votes (32.43 per cent), Kyle Bridgewater of the Free Democratic Movement had 70 votes (11.13 per cent) and independent candidate Noelle Young won 55 votes (8.74 per cent).

“I am still going to engage with every single voter in constituency 14 and carry on for them,” Ms Lightbourne said. “I want to understand what concerns are most important to them.”

Out of 1,164 voters in the constituency, 629 cast their ballot, representing 54 per cent.

Of the relatively low turnout, Ms Lightbourne said: “People may have either been discouraged or needed more time to build a relationship with new candidates. Overall though, I am still happy to have learnt about the things that are important to them.”

After studying at university, Ms Lightbourne worked on the 2012 Barack Obama US presidential campaign. She is head of operations and strategy for the PLP.

Mr Rogers remained philosophical after his defeat.

“That is democracy, right?” he said. “Tonight, unfortunately was not our time. I am committed to the area, so I will continue to be around.”

Time constraints were his biggest challenge.

“I jumped into this with only four weeks to campaign and it was my goal to get to every door,” he said. “I managed to get to about 80 per cent.”

He expressed disappointment at the low voter turn out.

“The numbers do not seem healthy,” he said. “Voters were expressing apathy. I have seen few people from the Cedar Park neighbourhood coming out to vote, and it is within walking distance of the polling station. People are disappointed in the Government. I am disappointed in the Government. That is why I am doing this.”

Meanwhile, Mr Bridgewater was not giving up on his political hopes, and said he would continue to look out for the area.

He said he had asked for the people’s faith, and would have to serve another day.

“I have enjoyed the journey,” he said. “Campaigning was amazing. I was invited into every home. The only grumbles I had were when people were eating their dinner, but I did not have anyone pushing me off the doorstep due to their colours or brand.”

Ms Young expressed deep gratitude towards her supporters.

“Running as an independent candidate was a bold step,” she said. “While I did not win my seat, I gained something more valuable, the knowledge that more people than I ever knew about believe in me and the vision I put forward.”

She said many people have asked if she will run again, but the reality is that she might have to leave Bermuda to obtain services and educational opportunities for her youngest son.

“I sincerely hope that our new leadership will put more consideration into empowering the children and youth of our country,” she said.