Some members of the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) arrived in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) on Thursday, one week before the Nov. 27 general election, reportedly to assist the incumbent Unity Labour Party (ULP) with its election day machinery.
A source told iWitness News that the reinforcement had arrived as fresh polling — the result of which has not been made public — suggested that the ULP is trailing the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP).
Five people, including — Kevin Henry, Kevon Henry, Alicia Deane, and Marcus Stephens — some of whom were wearing BLP-branded clothing, exited the arrivals terminal of the Argyle International Airport at 11:23 a.m. on Thursday.
A source in the know told iWitness News that a further six BLP representatives are expected to arrive in St. Vincent on Friday.
The BLP members are the latest among Labour Party representatives from around the region to campaign alongside the ULP as it seeks a sixth consecutive five-year term in office.
On Oct. 22, the prime ministers of Dominica and St. Lucia, Roosevelt Skerrit and Phillip J. Pierre, made a one-day official visit to SVG during which they toured the hospital under construction in Arnos Vale and the new EC$700 million port in Kingstown, which opened on October 25.
During their visit, both leaders endorsed Gonsalves for a sixth term, although he opposes in SVG several of their key policies, including citizenship by investment, which he presented as inherently corrupt, and VAT-free shopping days.
Pierre is asking the St. Lucian electorate to make his government the first to be returned to office for a second consecutive term since 2006 as they cast their ballots on Dec. 1.
Gonsalves has said that he will travel to Castries after the vote in SVG to campaign for Pierre and his St. Lucia Labour Party.
On Nov. 5, Tevin Andrews, the Grenadian MP representing that country’s Grenadine islands, endorsed Chevonne Stewart, the ULP’s Southern Grenadines candidate, who is making her first bid to win the seat, which the ULP has never won in 36 years.
Then, on Sunday, Ian Douglas, a member of the Dominica Labour Party and a nephew of former Dominica PM, the late Rosie Douglas, urged Vincentians to return the ULP to office.
He told ULP supporters at the launch of the party’s election manifesto in Colonarie and media audiences that they should return ULP to office despite their concerns.
“I know you have concerns. I know the rank and file have concerns, brothers and sisters, but it is better to stick with Labour because the future is brighter with the Unity Labour Party,” Douglas said.
Well, if Barbados is involved in SVG elections, i.e., keeping Gonsalves in power, we might be looking at a merging of the two states. How this power sharing is supposed to work will remain a mystery until then. Aging Gonsalves is aiming to remain perpetually in charge for the foreseeable future. He is really scared now.
help to do wat, people ah drop dead, sick, loose wok, house and everything.. fo not teking a poison vac . . Aryo think the people really dotish eh, wen we go to de pools we will surely remember
I don’t think or believe that other islands should get involved in other islands politics.
So when they come for ULP, they are comrades BUT anyone else is a foreign operative?
If it wasn’t so serious, I’d laugh!
The hypocrisy!!!!