ST. JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) — Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s gamble of calling a general election nearly two years ahead of the constitutional deadline paid off on Thursday when he guided his ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) to a commanding victory.
Preliminary results show that the ABLP won 15 of the 17 seats at stake in the election, reversing the slim victory it had achieved in January 2023, when the party scraped home by a 9-7 margin.
“We are humbled and honoured by your support and confidence. Now is the time to move forward together, build on our gains and continue our work on this long journey toward the betterment of our society and the upliftment of our people. From each and every one of us, THANK YOU,” Browne wrote on the ruling party’s Facebook page.
In an address to supporters, Browne said he was grateful for the confidence shown in his leadership and that of the ABLP to continue the socio-economic development of Antigua and Barbuda.
“We are here to serve all the people of Antigua and Barbuda. Education, jobs, business opportunities will be open to all who are prepared to seize them and I say to my distinguished countrymen and countrywomen … when we create these opportunities for you, please seize them.
“And I add here again that no one will be left behind who is willing to move forward. And notwithstanding your political persuasion, this is not a time for laggards. This is a time for all of us to perform, to increase our productivity and to make sure that Antigua and Barbuda becomes one of the most productive small island states globally.”
He told supporters that the work has already begun and that across the nation projects are underway, transforming communities, strengthening our economy and improving lives.
“And we will build on that foundation, advancing new initiatives that uplift our people, enhance our dignity and deepen our pride as citizens of Antigua and Barbuda.
“And I want to say to you that we must remain a dignified people. We must not cower to anyone. We must not be timid. We must stand tall in every forum, every regional, every international forum as Antiguans and Barbudans.
“And as we build on the foundation and we advance new initiatives that uplift our people, we will make sure that we continue to enhance the dignity of our country,” Browne said, adding that now is not a moment of triumph.d
“So just in case anyone expected me to gloat, at the end of the day, the contest is over. From all indications, the people who have supported us to get 15 of the 17 seats, that in itself is a resounding mandate for which we are eternally grateful,” he added.
Preliminary figures released by the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission (ABEC) show that the leader of the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP), Jamale Pringle, was the only candidate of the party to have withstood the ABLP onslaught. Pringle defeated the ABLP’s Anthony Smith.
On the sister isle of Barbuda, the incumbent Trevor Walker of the Barbuda People’s Movement (BPM) retained the seat polling 609 votes as against 398 for Kendra Beazer, a former BPM member, who contested the poll on behalf of the ABLP.
“I want to thank all Antiguans and Barbudans who have supported the United Progressive Party. We’re indeed grateful and you will hear from us in a short time,” Pringle said, extending congratulations to the ABLP.
He said while he is thankful for winning his seat and “we still maintain the constituency under the column of the United Progressive Party … there’s no second place in politics.
“Just as we did in 2018, we’ll still be standing. We can’t get enough of the United Progressive Party. We’ll still be there,” he added.
Among the other defeated candidates was Harold Lovell, a former finance minister, who, following his defeat in the January 2023 general election, quit active politics. Lovell lost to Anthony Smith in the All Saints West constituency.
Browne, who easily retained the St. John’s City West seat he has represented since 1999, becomes the first prime minister here to have won four consecutive general elections.
He had called the snap general election, telling supporters that the campaign was a “Renaissance” and victory was necessary to continue the progress the country had been achieving under the ABLP administration since 2014.
Among the other victorious ABLP candidates is Browne’s wife, Maria, the public works minister in the last government, who easily defeated the UPP’s Ashworth Azille in the St. John’s Rural East seat.
The three independent candidates were unable to make any significant impact, all losing their deposits.
Regional pollster Peter Wickham said that the results underscore the division within the opposition party, noting that the strong showing in 2023, when the UPP won seven seats, had “completely evaporated.
“I am seeing overall a swing of more than 5%, which will allow the ABLP to probably win all the seats on the mainland,” the Barbados-based Wickham, who conducted opinion polls ahead of the general election, told television viewers.
“The swing is consistent,” he said, adding, “I am happy that the polling was telling us exactly what is happening.”
Professor Justin Robinson, the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of its Five Islands Campus here, said that the election results answered a number of concerns that had been confronting the electorate.
“Can I see this person as leading my country and being the prime minister? And you’re also looking at candidates. … Who might be the health minister? … So, people are looking at that,” said Robinson, one of the members of the panel on the state-owned ABS Radio and Television.
“Now, so that seems to me to be one of the UPP’s weaknesses, and I think one of the challenges, one of the issues going forward, I think the challenge is that the electorate has actually chosen a leader for them if things go to form.”
He said that among the other contenders for leading the opposition party, Pringle has emerged as the “only man standing today”.
He said that it also reminds him of the results in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, “where a lot of people had argued that the election result was a rejection of Gonsalves, but he was the only man who held the seat.
“And one of the theses or arguments tonight is that the UPP’s loss is in part a rejection of Pringle as leader. But he’s the only man holding his seat. So that’s an interesting dynamic,” Robinson added.
But Wickham believes that Pringle should step down even though he may be the lone UPP candidate to have won a seat in the election.
“My sense now is that I don’t believe that he will lead the UPP for much longer. I think that they will revert to a situation where they have extra-parliamentary leadership. I mean, I think if they’re wise, they will do that.
“And if he is wise, he will essentially give them the opportunity for doing that, because I do agree that it appears as though the electorate has said they put their confidence in him. But the reality is that he had the strongest seat. So that’s the reason why he’s the last man standing.
“It’s the same thing for Gonsalves. He had the strongest seat. And the same thing for Alan Chastanet (in St. Lucia). He also had the strongest seat, and that’s the reason why when all of the swing goes, he is the one that’s most able to resist the swing.
“But that doesn’t have a lot to do with leadership. In many instances, it has a lot to do with constituency strength that you were able to maintain over time. But I think that you have to have the maturity as a leader to understand that this does not mean that you are the best person,” Wickham added.
