By Caribbean News Global contributor
CASTRIES, St Lucia – The Saint Lucia Labour (SLP) has won the general elections in Saint Lucia in what can be called a phenomenal victory under the leadership of Philip J. Pierre, prime minister-designate of Saint Lucia.
Preliminary results declared the SLP has won 13 seats, the United Workers Party (UWP) won 2 seats ( Micoud South, Allen Chastanet Choiseul/ Saltibus, Bradley Felix ) and 2 seats going to independent candidates Stephenson King and Richard Frederick.
In this scenario, who will be the leader of the opposition is anyone’s guess.
In the 2016 general election, the UWP won 11 of the 17 seats with the SLP winning 6 seats.
In a request for comment Dr Alphonsus St Rose, said: “ Saint Lucian’s vote; is a vote of conscience to restore the heart and soul of the country.”
Early results Monday evening indicated a national swing towards the labour party. Independent candidates, Castries Central Candidate Richard Frederick, led the night – the first seat to be declared; while former prime minister Stephenson King, created history, winning the Castries North seat, separated from the UWP machinery, albeit specific capital influence.
In a separate comment from a Saint Lucian economist, he said: “ This election can be categorized as a people’s victory – driven by the people – social and economic deprived by the UWP administration. And likewise, efforts at voter suppression, foreign consultants and a last-minute splash of open distribution of money to anyone willing to accept was repulsed.”
The SLP created history in Micoud North with the youngest candidate in the general elections, Jeremiah Norbert, to win a seat held by Sir John Compton and the UWP since adult suffrage 1951.
Commenting on national television Monday, political strategist and director of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Research Services (CADRES), Peter Wickham, said: “A significantly greater swing that I had expected from the ruling party. As it stands now, the swing is in double digits and the United Workers Party (UWP) would have to do very well to try and contain that swing.”
Predictable, the UWP could not pull back an early national swing of approximately 10 percent, pending the final results.
The results indicate a rejection of the Allen Chastanet administration “ Building a New St Lucia” and “Five for Five” (ballahoo policy) while being mired in allegations of corruption and the “FFF’s” – Friends, Family and Foreigners.
Monday evening, Pierre told Saint Lucians: If there ever was a time our country needed us, that time is now. In our country today, there is an atmosphere of hopelessness and despair. In recent days, we have heard the voices of our people speaking out against the pervasive injustice, corruption and vindictiveness of this government. Our country needs us to lift us out of this abyss.
Related: Your country needs you now, says opposition leader Pierre
Saint Lucians can look forward to a new day. A new opportunity to reclaim its stature in the Caribbean and the global setting accompanied by a new prime minister, and new expectations to governance.
In the wisdom of Pierre (prime minister-designate) previous declaration, he said: This election is about rescuing Saint Lucia.
