2005 Election Results
8 Dec 2005
THE RULING Unity Labour Party
(ULP) was returned to power in general elections in St. Vincent and the
Grenadines yesterday, winning by the same margin as it did in 2000, according
to preliminary results announced here.
The ULP won 12 of the 15 seats contested in the elections, while
the New Democratic Party (NDP) was able to retain three seats, including two in
its traditional stronghold of the Grenadines and the East Kingstown
constituency, where its leader, Arnhim Eustace,
staved off a strong challenge from the ULP candidate and campaign manager
Julian Francis.
Preliminary results showed that Eustace won by 146 votes, after
Francis polled 2,019 to his 2,165.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, who was expected to deliver an
address to the nation last night, comfortably retained his seat, brushing aside
the challenge of Cameron Balcombe.
The small SVG Green Party, which had contested four of the
constituencies, failed to win any seat, with its candidates losing their
deposits.
The NDP has not yet conceded defeat. The party received 44 per
cent of the popular vote, while the ULP received 56 per cent.
Regional pollster Peter Wickham of
From the
WITH a minimally reduced mandate from the people of
The elections were keenly contested, and came at the end of a long
and arduous campaign which was launched on November 7. That there were three
separate observer missions overseeing the conduct of the polls, two of them
regional and hemispheric and the other totally local, reflected the high
interest in the Vincentian democratic process.
By all accounts, that process was declared to have been
transparent, fairly conducted and consistent with the aspirations for
democratic governance which this region takes as a matter of pride.
As the country returns to normal today following yesterday's
national holiday in honour of the ULP victory, Vincentians should pat themselves on their individual and
collective backs for the conduct of a poll which was fierce but which in the
end continued a long tradition of the peaceful transition from one
administration to the next. In this case, though, it was the same
administration, but the process by which the people went about exercising that
franchise was nevertheless as vigorous and as rigorous as was to be expected.
In addressing the country moments after the results were clear
late Wednesday night, the returned Prime Minister Gonsalves said they
demonstrated his people's faith in the plans and programmes,
as well as the vision and the leadership style of his administration.
These include his emphatic embrace of regional unity, his push for
economic, educational and infrastructural advancement, and his stated
commitment to deepening the Vincentian democracy.
Constitutional and local government reform are
essential elements of that agenda.
He said he would continue with vigour on
that road. He said also that it was a matter of fact that there were many
people who were resistant to change.
Dr Gonsalves will be well advised, however, not to interpret this
renewed mandate as a licence to ignore those voices
in the Vincentian body politic who may still harbour alternatives to his brand of national development,
but who may nevertheless be as committed to that ideal as he undoubtedly is.
Indeed, how he treats with dissent and legitimate criticism will
be a major checkpoint for his administration during this heady second term.
From the
St. Vincent voters
elect government to 2nd term
St. Vincent elected Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves' party
for a second term, rejecting the opposition.
Associated Press
With
all of the votes counted, Gonsalves' United Labor Party won 12 seats in
The
main opposition New Democratic Party, led by former Prime Minister Arnhim Eustace, won the remaining three seats, the office
said.
The
final election results were expected to be confirmed today.
Gonsalves
said the victory gave his party a mandate to move forward on several
infrastructure projects, including plans for a new international airport,
cross-island road and a sports stadium.
''The
people have endorsed our leadership style and that is because strong leadership
is needed at this time,'' Gonsalves said in a national address.
``Today,
Eustace
said he believed low voter turnout contributed to his party's poor showing.
''I'm
disappointed by the result and I think it could have been better,'' Eustace
said. ``The NDP has still performed well but now has to sit down and reassess
the situation and plan for the way ahead.''
Details
on voter turnout weren't immediately available.
Of
the island nation's total population of about 117,500, some 91,000 people were
registered to vote, but elections officials acknowledged the number included
many people who have died or moved away.
With
the victory, Gonsalves' party kept its 12 parliamentary seats, an indication
that voters weren't swayed by the opposition's arguments that Gonsalves'
policies had led the nation toward economic decline.
Gonsalves
dissolved Parliament on Nov. 7 and moved forward the election date that would
normally have to be held by July 2006.
The
prime minister said he made the move because his ''excellent'' record made it
opportune.
Gonsalves
argued he has led quicker economic growth than the former government and said
he was best suited to lead the country as it faces high oil prices and European
Union import support cuts.
From the
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Golsalves' ULP favoured for second term in |
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RICKEY SINGH, Observer |
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GONSALVES.expecting landslide victory |
PRIME MINISTER Ralph Gonsalves' ruling United Labour
Party (ULP) seems set for a second-term government with an expected landslide
victory in today's general election in
But while Gonsalves is optimistic that his ULP will retain the 12
constituencies won in the 2001 general election, his main challenger, Arnhim Eustace, believes that his New Democratic Party
(NDP) can pull off an upset in today's vote.
The confidence of the flamboyant Gonsalves, former University of
the
However, Eustace, former economist with the Caribbean Development
Bank, said there was no way there could be a ULP landslide.
At the same time, he has complained that the "electoral
register of 91,023 has been "padded by at least 3,000 names.
The claim was, however, rejected by supervisor of elections Rodney
Adams, and Gonsalves.
Both told the Observer Monday in telephone conversations from
For the March 2001 election, in which 69 per cent electors voted,
the ULP won with approximately 56.9 per cent of the votes to the then incumbent
NDP's 40 per cent. The electoral roll then stood at
84,000 in a population of about 107,000.
Elections supervisor Adams explained that in addition to 2,000 new
voters, "there have been a significant number" of Vincentians
who had returned from abroad to register for today's poll and who are entitled
to be included on the approved electoral register.
A network of labour parties currently in
government in the Eastern Caribbean have been openly identified with the ULP's campaign for a return to power, among them the ruling
parties of Dominica, St Kitts and Nevis and St Lucia.
At the weekend, Gonsalves had a luncheon meeting at his official
residence with
In the meantime, as the NDP's Eustace was preparing
to meet with the OAS and Caricom election observers,
Gonsalves was applauding the return home to vote of some 75 Vicentians
studying in
In contrast to the NDP's expectation to
restrict the ULP to a one-term government, Gonsalves was certain of victory.
"I am planning to fly to Barbados, after being sworn in as
Prime Minister on Thursday morning, to join my Caricom
colleagues and President Castro for the CARICOM-Cuba Summit that will be in
progress at the Hilton Hotel," said the Vincentian
prime minister.