General elections were held on Wednesday, 5 December 1979 for all the Representatives elected to the House of Assembly in the first general elections since St. Vincent became fully independent on 27 October 1979.

The unicameral Parliament of St. Vincent, the House of Assembly, comprises 13 elected Representatives and six Senators appointed by the Governor-General – four on the advice of the Prime Minister and two on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition.  The normal duration of the legislature is five years.

Fifty candidates vied for the 13 seats from four contending parties.  The St. Vincent Labour Party (SVLP) led by R. Milton Cato, Prime Minister since 1974; the People's Political Party (PPP), the SVLP's traditional rival, headed by E.T. Joshua; the New Democratic Party, led by James F. Mitchell; and the United People's Movement of Ralph Gonsalves, which contested elections for the first time.  All four groups presented a similar manifesto but ideologically the United People's Movement was oriented to the left much as the political groups which had recently come to power in Grenada and Saint Lucia.  The SVLP (considered a moderate socialist party), the centrist New Democratic Party and the People's Political Party were oriented to the right.

On polling day, the SVLP obtained a clear victory as it captured 11 of the 13 seats.  The other two seats went to New Democratic Party candidates although the NDP leader, James Mitchell, was himself defeated.  Voter turnout was 63.9%.

Cato became Prime Minister; his new Cabinet begun its work on 7 December and was formally confirmed in office on 24 January 1980.
The successful candidate for the Grenadines seat, C.E. Cozier resigned shortly after the election.  In the by-election of 23 June 1980, Mitchell obtained 1,742 votes compared to 584 for Timothy Hazell (SVLP) to return to the House of Assembly.