Five candidates in St. Michael South
THERE were no bells and whistles at the Graydon Sealy Secondary school but the five candidates contesting the St. Michael South seat were in high spirits and equally assured of their chances to win the upcoming elections.
From as early as 8:45 am, independent candidate Alex Mitchell was on hand to complete the nomination process. However they would have to wait until 10 am when Returning Officer Egarton Thompson officially allowed the individual candidates into the school hall.
Mitchell, while speaking to the media after completing the process said that he was relieved that the process was over, but expressed concern that persons are not given time out from work to assist in the nominations. He also suggested that nominations could be stretched over two days or the hours could be extended to allow persons to come forward after work. His proposer was Edward A.R Burke and seconder was Lorraine Dacosta.
He was followed by Sandra Corbin of the United Progressive Party (UPP) whose morning started on a rocky note after she lamented that her expected proposer was a no-show. After finding a replacement and completing the nomination process, the first timer flanked by her supporters said: “I feel confident.”
“I am sure that the UPP will make a brilliant impact and will surprise everyone. I myself in St. Michael South have had a very good reaction from all that I meet. They are ready for change. And what we have to ask ourselves as the people of Barbados and St. Michael South is, would you wish to continue with the current administration who have failed so far, can we still continue under these awful economic conditions that have been unable to prove themselves over this period of time,” she stated. Her proposer was Hamilton Cumberbatch while her seconder was Maria Williams.
Arriving at 11 am was Solution Barbados’ Paul Gibson and his team. “I am very excited that we were able to come here today and to take this step because we believe that we wanted to throw ourselves into this political space with the objective of offering Barbados a very suitable alternative.”
“Solutions Barbados Party would certainly put you the people Barbados first and make sure that we put money in your pockets by managing this economy in an effective way.” His proposer was Curtis Rouse and seconder Christopher Rouse.
After a lull of close to two hours, a sea of red could be seen approaching the Graydon Sealy School just around 1pm. Barbados Labour Party candidate Kirk Humphrey and an large group of his supporters made their way from his office on Culloden Road to complete the nomination process, with their banners and posters however without any loud noise and fanfare as reported in other constituencies.
Humphrey while speaking to the media after completing his nomination said: “I am feeling very good. My entire camp is in very good spirits. I’m ecstatic to have completed this part of the process and ready to move on to a very resounding victory to the people of St. Michael South. His proposer was Rosemary Leon and his seconder was Irvine “Big Red” Streete.
The incumbent for the constituency and Prime Minister of Barbados the Rt Hon Freundel Stuart arrived at the school at 2 pm with his supporters. He too said he feels “quite good” following the nomination process. “I’ve been at this for a little while now it’s not a new experience and I feel quite comfortable. I am looking forward with eager anticipation to the campaign and I am confident that we will pull it off,” he said. Stuart acknowledged that the issues facing the constituency are not fundamentally different from the challenges facing the country. These include infrastructure, housing and jobs. His proposer was Colleen Jones and seconder June Harris.