May 24 is Election Day

BARBADIANS will go the polls on Thursday, May 24, 2018, to elect a government to manage the affairs of this country for the next five years.

Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Freundel Stuart made the announcement in the same way which the 2013 election date was sent, through a release from the Government Information Service (GIS), with the revelation of Monday, May 7 as Nomination Day also. That release stated that the Prime Minister had officially notified Governor General, Dame Sandra Mason.

The eagerly anticipated election date comes even as political activity has continued to increase from the various political parties, with the incumbent Democratic Labour Party (DLP) facing off with the main Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP), with the inclusion of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Solutions Barbados, the Barbados Integrity Movement (BIM) and the New Kingdom Alliance, plus a slew of Independents, making for a congested slate of candidates who will descend on the Treasury from next week to start paying deposits which will enable them to register to be candidates in the upcoming poll.

With the DLP and BLP each naming a full slate of 30 candidates and the UPP expected to name close to a full slate, well over 100 candidates will be nominated to contest the poll.

The poll comes after the most recent session of Parliament expired in early March and will feature some interesting match-ups. Prime Minister Stuart will face first time challenger Kirk Humphrey in St. Michael South, while Opposition Leader Mia Mottley will face new DLP St. Michael North-East candidate Patrick Todd, who is the former City of Bridgetown M.P., but lost that seat to current BLP incumbent for the City, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bostic, who will face DLP candidate Henderson Williams. Both Bostic and Williams will have to navigate a crowded field in the City, with UPP Leader Lynette Eastmond contesting the seat after not having success in the St. Phillip West constituency. Former sex worker Natalie Harewood, announced last month, that she would contest the seat as an Independent. “It is time for us to do something. It is me; God is sending me to do it. They are always crying me down, but I feel so good in my heart that I am doing something nice and positive and I’m helping young people that have so much things in their minds to talk, but they can’t talk because they’re scared. I want people to know that I’m coming to try to make a difference. We’re not dealing with any negatives. We are dealing with positive vibes. I’m not backing down. I am going all out for my people. My poor people need help and we don’t want no more talk, no more lies. We want somebody real like Natalie Nicole Harewood,” she said during her announcement.

With the recent Parliament, at start of the previous term in 2013 being split 16-14 between the two main parties (DLP and BLP), the fight for control of the Lower Chamber will be intense. The BLP will be defending a number of seats which it captured in 2013, but still face challenges from the DLP. In addition to the City of Bridgetown seat, St. Michael South East is shaping up to be a titanic battle between incumbent Santia Bradshaw, who won the seat narrowly in 2013, by just ten votes, facing off against former Pinelands Creative Workshop (PCW) head Rodney Grant, who is leading the DLP charge in the competitive seat. Of interest, is the fact that Bradshaw has been supported by former DLP candidate Patrick Tannis, who lost the DLP nomination to Grant. Grant, is being supported by former three-time representative Hamilton Lashley, who defeated Bradshaw’s father, Delisle for the seat. This seat will bear watching.
BLP incumbent Trevor Prescod is facing a tough battle from new DLP candidate Nicholas Alleyne. St. Michael East has been competitive in the last two election cycles. St. James Central is also competitive with BLP incumbent Kerrie Symmonds facing off with DLP challenger George Connolly, in a seat which has changed hands every election since its creation in 2003. Symmonds has the unique distinction of winning the seat, then losing and then narrowly regaining it. Add UPP’s Wendell Callendar to the mix, makes for an interesting dynamic.

St. George South features another huge clash. Considered a bell-weather seat, Incumbent BLP representative Dwight Sutherland will have his hands full fending off former M.P. Dr. Esther Byer-Suckoo.

St. Michael North looks interesting with long-time BLP incumbent Ronald Toppin facing off against DLP first timer Kim Tudor, plus Maria Phillips of the UPP and Angela Gibbs of Solutions Barbados. St. Michael Central looks competitive as usual with DLP incumbent Steve Blackett tackling BLP’s Arthur Holder, while St. Michael West has DLP incumbent Michael Carrington tackling former M.P. Reverend Joseph Atherley and BIM head, Neil Holder among others.
St. Michael South Central has DLP incumbent Richard Sealy facing new BLP Candidate Marsha Caddle, plus former BLP M.P. now UPP candidate David Gill. Gill and Sealy had significant close battles for this seat, so this one bears watching as well.

Christ Church West will be interesting. Former BLP representatives Dr. Maria Agard (now UPP) will tackle new BLP candidate William Duguid, while DLP candidate Verla DePeiza will also be a force. Christ Church South sees DLP incumbent John Boyce facing off with Ralph Thorne of the BLP; in Christ Church East, DLP incumbent Dr. Denis Lowe will tackle BLP’s Wilfred Abrahams. BLP Economic Adviser Ryan Straughn will tackle Ronald Jones in Christ Church East Central.

This will be the first election in over 30 years which will not feature a Thompson on the ballot in St. John. With Mara Thompson opting not to run, DLP General Secretary now candidate George Pilgrim will seek to keep the DLP stronghold safe from the challenge of BLP’s Charles Griffith.
The fun has officially started.

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