43 candidates nominated to contest Dec. 9 elections

(Scroll for full list of nominees)

A total of 43 candidates representing four political parties were on Friday nominated as candidates for the Dec. 9 General Election in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The incumbent Unity Labour Party, led by Ralph Gonsalves and the main opposition New Democratic Party, led by Arnhim Eustace each presented a full slate of 15 candidates.

The 3-year-old Democratic Republican Party, led by former senator Anesia Baptiste had six candidates nominated while there were seven candidates nominated for the SVG Green Party, which is led by Ivan O’Neal.

After nomination day, the number of women in the race has increase from the three previously made public to five, on account of the Green Party’s Central and West Kingstown candidates.

The ULP has one woman on its slate and the DRP has two, while the NDP is the only party without a female candidate.

Political observers say the election is expected to be a straight fight between the ULP and the NDP, which had eight and seven seats respectively in the last Parliament.

Political observers say that SVG Green Party, which gained just 0.2 per cent of the votes in 2010, and the DRP, are unlikely to have any impact on the outcome of the vote.

The ULP is seeking a fourth term amidst declining support in each successive election since it was first elected in 2001.

The party was swept into office in March 2001 in early elections called after political unrest one year earlier.

In that poll, voters overwhelmingly rejected the NDP, which had been in office for 17 years.

The ULP won 56.5 per cent of the votes in the 2001 poll and 12 of the 15 seats in Parliament, compared to 40.9 per cent to the NDP, which took the remaining three seats.

The party’s performance in 2001 represented an improvement over 1998, when it won 54.6 per cent of the popular vote, compared to the NDP’s 45.3 per cent.

However, the ULP did not take the reins of power having won seven seats to the NDP’s eight in a country that uses the first past the post electoral system.

In 2005, the ULP was returned to office by the same margin of seats as 2001, but again entered the nation’s history books as securing a second term with a smaller share of the popular votes than in the first term.

In the 2005 vote, the party’s popular votes fell 1.1 percentage points, to 55.4 per cent, while the NDP’s share of the popular votes rose 3.6 percentage points to 44.5 per cent.

The ULP saw both its number of popular votes and parliamentary seats fall in 2010, although it secured a third term in office.

In the 2010 polls, the party captured 53 per cent of the popular votes, 2.4 percentage points than in 2005.

The NDP, on the other hand, saw the number of popular votes it received in 2010 jumping 5.9 per cent to 50.4 per cent, capturing four additional seats in the process.

Following is the list of candidates, their parties and the constituencies in which they have been nominated.

The nominees:

Following is the list of the parties and their candidates the constituencies in which they have been nominated, as well as the candidates’ addresses and professions.

North Windward

• DRP: George Byron, Overland, Farmer
• NDP: Lauron Baptiste, Sandy Bay, Farmer
• ULP: Montgomery Daniel, Sandy Bay, Agriculturalist
• SVG Green Party: Christian Waldron, Ratho Mill, Builder

North Central Windward

• DRP: Haran Grant, Byera, Politician,
• NDP: Kenroy Johnson, Goergetown, Politician
• ULP: Ralph Everard Gonsalves, Frenches, Lawyer

South Central Windward

• NDP: Addsion M. Thomas, South Union, Research Officer
• ULP: Saboto S. Caesar, Sans Souci, Lawyer
• SVG Green Party: Kenneth Horne, Stubbs, Maintenance

South Windward

• NDP: Noel Dickson, Stubbs, Politician
• ULP: Alpheus F. Stephenson, Bridgetown, Clerk
• SVG Green Party: Ivan O’neal, Harmony Hall, Politician

Marriaqua

• NDP: Curtis Bowman, Richland Park, Pharmacist
• ULP: St. Clair Prince, Rivulet, Retired
• SVG Green Party: Adella Samuel, Redemption Sharpes, Politician

East St. George

• DRP: Calvert Baptiste, Belair, Technician
• NDP: Linton A. Lewis, Cane Hall, Barrister
• ULP: Camillo M. Gonsalves, Ratho Mill, Lawyer
• SVG Green Party: Kadmiel Mc Fee, Calder, Economist

West St. George

• DRP: Anesia Baptiste, Belair, Politician
• NDP: Julian S. Ferdinand, Arnos Vale, Businessman
• ULP: Cecil O. Mc Kie, Arnos Vale, Manager,

East Kingstown

• DRP: Karima M. Parris, Roseau, Secretary
• NDP: Arnhim U. Eustace, Ratho Mill, Economist
• ULP: Luke R. Brown, Cane Garden, Economist

Central Kingstown

• NDP: St. Claire Leacock, Dorsetshire Hill, Management Consultant
• ULP: Worldsworth B. Phillips, New Montrose, Businessman
• SVG Green Party: Marsha Caruth, Calder, Caretaker

West Kingstown

• NDP: Daniel E. Cummings, Redemption Sharpes, Engineer
• ULP: Deborah Charles, Lowmans Leeward, Politician
• SVG Green Party: Natasha Black, Calder, Politician

South Leeward

• DRP: Wendel Parris, La Croix, Social Worker,
• NDP: Nigel Stephenson, Questelles, Politician
• ULP: Jomo S. Thomas, Campden Park, Lawyer

Central Leeward

• NDP: Benjamin Exeter, Layou, It Consultant
• ULP: Louis H. Straker, Layou, Retired

North Leeward

• NDP: Roland Matthews, Petit Bordel, Businessman
• ULP: Carlos James, Cane Hall, Lawyer

Northern Grenadines

• NDP: Godwin Lorraine Friday, Mt Pleasant, Bequia, Barrister
• ULP: Herman Louis Belmar, La Pompe, Bequia, Environmentalist

Southern Grenadines

• NDP: Terrance Ollivierre, Clifton, Union Island, Politician
• ULP: Edwin Snagg, Clifton, Union Island, Businessman