General elections were held in Bermuda on 29 October 1985 for all 40 seats in the House of Assembly using a first-past-the-post system. Each constituency returned two members to the House of Assembly.

Political Parties & Candidates

A total of 77 candidates from two parties contested the election, with the United Bermuda Party (UBP) presenting a full slate of 40 candidates and the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) presenting 29 candidates. There were also eight independent candidates.

Results

The result was a victory for the United Bermuda Party (UBP) of Prime Minister John Swan, which won 31 of the 40 seats in  the House of Assembly. Swan's party picked up five House of Assembly seats in the election Tuesday, while the opposition Progressive Labor Party (PLP), led by Lois Browne-Evans, lost three, leaving it with only seven.The National Liberal Party (NLP), a splinter group of the main opposition party won the remaining two seats.

The opposition had criticized Swan for calling a snap election, the third vote in five years, when his opponents were divided. But Mr. Swan defended the move, saying the addition of a third party made the election necessary. His majority is the largest since 1968.

Voter Turnout

Voter turnout was 66.21%