Just over 60,000 electors are eligible to vote in Antigua’s general elections on April 30. Prime Minister Gaston Browne named the snap election date late Tuesday. He says his Antigua and Barbuda Labor Party (ABLP) will be returned to power for another five-year term.
Browne named the date just as the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) was scrambling at a special general council party meeting, also late Tuesday, to ratify and endorse 16 of the 17 parliamentary candidates it will field in the federation with Barbuda.
Sister isle, Barbuda, has two house representatives.
Nomination day will be on April 13, and so confident of Browne’s victory that the party will win a fourth consecutive term after victories in 2014, 2018, and 2023, he has named May 1 as a national holiday for locals to celebrate.
“We are ready,” Browne told a party launch on Tuesday, as he spelled out developmental achievements, including major upgrades to the main airport, major road rehabilitation works, and the growth of the tourism sector, as key achievements in the past three years.
Elections are not scheduled until 2028, but the prime minister has made it clear that he badly wants to take advantage of alleged disorganization in the UWP and win yet another term.
“When we defeat them on the 30th, the following day will be a public holiday. We shall celebrate Labor Day in grand style. This is your renaissance. Let us stand together. Let us move forward together. Let us win together. Stay with me one last time, labor, labor, labor, labor. May God continue to bless you. Much love and blessings,” Browne said.
The United Progressive Party (UPP) has said that it will officially launch its campaign this weekend with a major public concert.
The ABLP holds 9 of the 17 seats, with the UWP and one independent candidate holding the remaining 8.
The federation is going to the polls just as The Bahamas awaits a date for general elections in the coming days. Parliament is to be dissolved on April 8th, while the nation waits for the actual election date and the date when candidates will hand in their documents to elections officials.
