ST JOHN’S (AP): Incumbent Prime Minister Gaston Browne led the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) to an unprecedented fourth consecutive electoral victory, following a snap election that reduced the main opposition to a single-seat presence in Parliament.
Official results, released in the pre-dawn hours yesterday, confirmed the landslide, prompting supporters to take to the streets in celebration.
The ABLP secured 15 of the twin-island nation’s 17 parliamentary seats, while Jamale Pringle of the main opposition United Progressive Party was left as its lone standard-bearer after his party’s seat count collapsed from five to one.
He will be joined on the opposition bench by returning Member of Parliament Trevor Walker, who has won on the Barbuda People’s Movement ticket in every election (except 2014) since 2004.
Called two years ahead of the constitutional deadline, the snap election followed a campaign dominated by the rising cost of living and infrastructure development.
“We will build one nation, united and inclusive, where all who are willing to come together under the banner of one Antigua and Barbuda will share in the reward of their efforts,” Browne told ABLP supporters.
Among ABLP winners is his wife, Maria Browne.
Election officials expressed satisfaction with the proceedings, noting that polling stations across the twin-island nation operated efficiently.
Browne and Attorney General Steadroy Benjamin were sworn in on Friday morning. The remaining members of the Cabinet will be sworn in on Tuesday.
