BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (TeleSUR) – On Wednesday at 6:00, polling stations began to receive the Barbardians who will choose 30 lawmakers in the first elections held since the formal establishment of the Republic in 2021.
Prime minister Mia Mottley called the elections 18 months before the constitutional deadline since she considered that the voting process will reaffirm her country’s sovereignty in its first months as a republic.
While there has been no formal voting intention polling, Barbados political analyst Peter Wickham assured that Mottley’s Labour Party (BLP), which currently holds 29 out of the 30 legislative seats, is expected to regain the major presence in parliament since it has supported sustainable policies to counteract the economic recession.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimations, the Barbadian economy grew by 3.3 percent last year after Mottley signed a US$465 million loan agreement. However, its 138-percent debt burden of the gross domestic product remains one of the highest in the Americas.
“Barbados will take at least three to four years to get back to pre-pandemic levels. However, a well-thought political strategy could make people less affected by the crisis,” Bridgetown-based economist Marla Dukharan told the Bloomberg outlet.
To meet this objective, the BLP will develop a Barbadian wealth fund to give Bajans cash from governmental assets and facilitate Cryptocurrency and online trading digital accounts. The party also promised to create ownership opportunities for citizens in the new medicinal cannabis industry and transfer Sam Lord’s Hotel tourism project to the credit unions.
“In times of crisis, political and social unity are indispensable. I invite all my people to exercise their right to vote with the conviction that they will all decide on our country’s destinies,” Mottley stated.
