Clearly moving to capitalize on a splintered opposition, Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados Saturday night called snap general elections for early next month, with more than a year left in her administration’s constitutional term.
Mottley, 56, whose Barbados Labor Party (BLP) has swept all 30 constituency seats in the past two elections, named Feb. 11 as the election date and ordered a dissolution of parliament on Monday of this week, with Jan. 27 being the day the BLP and the main opposition Democratic Labor Party (DLP) will present candidates for various constituencies.
The announcement, made at a party candidate launch in the city over the weekend, came just one day after Steve Prescott — a British-born attorney with local roots — announced on Friday the formation of the Reform Barbados Party. Prescott intends to offer voters an alternative to the two dominant political forces that have held power since before independence from Britain in 1966. However, it is not yet clear if Prescott will have enough time to organize district representatives and submit all party documents by nomination day.
Unless another Caribbean Community government announces an earlier date, Barbados will be the first in the 15-nation bloc to hold elections this year. Last year was considered a record for general elections, with 12 held among member states and associates. This year, The Bahamas may also hold elections, with both the Progressive Labor Party of Prime Minister Phillip Davis and the Free National Movement of opposition leader Mike Pintard preparing for polls due before the year’s last quarter.
Fresh elections are also expected in Dominica and Grenada, and possibly in Antigua, ahead of schedule. Prime Ministers Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica and Gaston Browne of Antigua face local criticism after the US recently restricted visa applications and travel for both tourism and permanent visas. Analysts say authorities might seek fresh mandates before dissatisfaction grows.
In Grenada, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell’s term expires this year, though no specific date has been announced.
As she rang the bell to announce the date, PM Mottley said that a new term will let labor know that their efforts can lead to success. She noted that party leaders who want to continue governing must return for a new mandate. “When we work together, we build that platform that can be fruitful,” she said.
Meanwhile, Opposition and DLP Leader Ralph Thorne said in a social media post that the party is working with “deliberateness and with purpose. Over the last seven years, too many Barbadians have watched politics become more about power, political self-interest, and opportunism. We have seen decisions and laws made without explanation. It is for this reason that I could no longer sit comfortably on a government bench. I didn’t leave because of any opportunity, fame, or promised riches. I left because my spirit was uneasy, uneasy with how decisions were being made and who they were being made for. Uneasy with too much power resting in too few hands. Uneasy with choices driven by political survival instead of doing what is right for Barbadians and all Barbadians,” he said.
