BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – NEWS coming out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines indicates that Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and his governing Unity Labour Party (ULP) has won that country’s general election by a narrow margin.
In winning yesterday’s (Dec. 13) general election, Dr. Gonsalves’ ULP with eight seats of the 15-member Parliament, has secured a third consecutive term in office while the Arnhim Eustace-led New Democratic Party (NDP) won the remaining seven.
When compared with the previous general election, the ULP is down by four seats and the NDP has increased its share by four in what can be termed a very closely-fought battle.
BBC Caribbean.com quoted lawyer Andrew Cummings saying on the state-owned NBC radio that “the result certainly gives the opposition the platform to continue the fight…from three seats to seven”.
It further states that questions are likely to be asked about Eustace’s political future, since the 65-year-old has now lost on three occasions.
The online outlet noted that Dr. Gonsalves had acknowledged that the election campaign had left some scars, and quoted him as saying, “This country has seen a lot of divisiveness and bitterness, perhaps even hatred through politics. I am hoping that now we have this contest behind us we can have time for healing and cooperation.
It also noted that Cummings believes Dr. Gonsalves’ administration could survive even with the slimmest of majorities.
“Nothing is wrong with eight-seven; we can still govern the country and need not have internal warfare.”
However, BBC Caribbean.com, stated, another lawyer, Jomo Thomas, was more cautious, noting that there was a history of floor-crossing in St. Vincent and neighbouring countries.
Meanwhile, Dr. Gonsalves has named Girlyn Miguel as his Deputy. She was the only woman elected to serve the nation in the House of Assembly. He also said that his government had little time to spare, as the next national budget must be presented to Parliament by the end of January 2011.
“We are still in the throes of a very difficult economic situation externally. We’ve weathered the financial and economic storm pretty well but, I say to you, next year is also going to be a most challenging year. We are not yet out of the woods,” he said.
Dr. Gonsalves also told the nation that his administration would focus on reducing poverty, providing every student with a laptop and complete the island’s international airport, among other areas of development.
