Lawyer Kay Bacchus-Baptiste says she will make a decision “in the next week or two” about whether she would enter active politics as a candidate.
Bacchus-Baptiste told iWitness News that she has been asked to consider becoming the candidate for the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) in West St. George.
She, however, denied that she has, in fact, been elected as the candidate, saying that no voting has taken place.
NDP President and Leader of the Opposition, Godwin Friday, along with the party’s general secretary, Tyrone James, both told iWitness News in separate interviews this week that no elections for a new candidate have taken place in the district.
Friday, however, told iWitness News that the NDP’s West St. George constituency council has met to discuss party matters related to the district, but not to elect a new candidate.
Bacchus-Baptiste is the wife of Lauron “Sharer” Baptiste, who carried the NDP’s flag in North Windward in the 2015 general elections.
Baptiste, a first-time candidate, lost to the ruling Unity Labour Party’s Montgomery Daniel who, like his party, secured a fourth consecutive term.
However, the NDP is challenging the results of the elections in North Windward and Central Leeward, and has secured significant court victories so far, although the hearing of the substantive matter is yet to begin.
Sources tell iWitness News that it is not clear if Baptiste will face the electorate again in the next elections as the NDP is considering a return of former Member of Parliament for the area, Monty Roberts, who served from 1989 to 1998 under the NDP administration.
The developments in West St. George come as the NDP’s candidate in that district in the last election, Jules Ferdinand, a University of the West Indies lecturer, has opted out of politics.
Ferdinand faced the electorate once as the NDP’s candidate for West St. George in the last general elections, losing to the ULP’s Cecil “Ces” McKie, who secured a second consecutive term.
He has, however, said that the NDP believes that a snap election could be called and if that is the case, he would not be able to adequately serve the party and constituents in light of his current obligations to the university.
Elections in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are constitutionally due in March 2021.
I say yes!!!!! Do it! Kay is a fighter and very smart. Get ready for the insults from our PM. Go for Central Kingstown if the Major does indeed retire, as has been hinted.
Without commenting on Kay Bacchus-Baptiste as such, more female candidates are badly needed in our male-dominated political world and society at large where woman continue to be treated as second class citizens in so many spheres.
That is true! It is even worse that establishments never let the best women go to the top. Instead we get women like Hillary Clinton or Nancy Pelosi.
Let’s not stop there. In the USA there are millions of Chinese-Americans. The only place Chinese are allowed to the top are in Asia, (including Russia), never in the USA, Europe or South America. Jews are 1% of society and over half of those at the top are Jews, nevertheless they claim anti-Semitism when they don’t get what they want. How can we make things fair. Instead we now are supposed to give special privilege to trans genders!