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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : St Vincent and the ...beanNewsNow)...</span>
Vincentians go to the polls today to elect a new government. It will be the sixth general elections since that former British colony gained independence from Britain 31 years ago on October 26, 1979. Campaigning by the two major parties, the incumbent Unity Labour Party (ULP) under Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, and the New Democratic Party (NDP), which is headed by Arnhim Eustace, an economist, started several months ago, but was intensified nearly a month ago when Gonsalves announced the election date. The ruling party now has12 members in Parliament, while there are three opposition lawmakers. Milton Cato, the founder of the Labour Party, saw the multi island colony to independence, but lost the elections in 1984 to James Mitchell's NDP, which was in power for three successive terms, but the party, which changed leadership for five months when Eustace took over, lost the government because a vibrant campaign and demonstration by Gonsalves forced a snap election to which the NDP succumbed. Gonsalves, whose small party, Movement for National Unity (MNU), merged with the Labour Party, shortly became the leader of the merged and strong ULP. He has been in power since 2001, and is closely associated with Cuba, and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Gonsalves lost a referendum on November 25 last year, when he was seeking a mandate to amend the constitution of the country to have a president instead of a Governor General and to remove the Privy Council as the final appellate court, replacing it with the regional Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). However, it is my view that the lost referendum is not a clear indication of the results of Monday's elections because the referendum had sought to amend the Constitution, and was not a general election to elect a government. More so, it is reported that a large number of ULP supporters did not vote in November. Reports from Kingstown state that a large number of voters want a change of government, but political pundits feel that the opposition NDP is too weak, especially in its leadership, despite the fact that veteran Mitchell, a Prime Minister for 17 years, is on the campaign trail, trying to assist the party that he founded. There have been complaints from the opposition camp of irregularities, but the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have sent separate teams to observe and to oversee the elections. Both the incumbent ULP and the NDP are fielding 15 candidates each, and the third party, the Green Party (GP) led by Ivan O'Neal, has 13 candidates. The voters are not taking the Green Party seriously because it is extremely weak. Nevertheless it was the first party which presented its manifesto weeks ago for perusal and scrutiny. The ULP started to distribute theirs a little over a week ago and the NDP as late as Friday -- less than three days before the elections. Both the incumbent ULP and the opposition NDP are confident of victory, but indications are that it will be a nail biting finish, but the voters, the Diaspora -- which has a keen interest -- and the region as a whole will have to wait until Monday night to know the results.- Oscar Ramjeet
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : St Vincent and the ...beanNewsNow)...</span>
Vincentians go to the polls today to elect a new government. It will be the sixth general elections since that former British colony gained independence from Britain 31 years ago on October 26, 1979. Campaigning by the two major parties, the incumbent Unity Labour Party (ULP) under Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, and the New Democratic Party (NDP), which is headed by Arnhim Eustace, an economist, started several months ago, but was intensified nearly a month ago when Gonsalves announced the election date. The ruling party now has12 members in Parliament, while there are three opposition lawmakers. Milton Cato, the founder of the Labour Party, saw the multi island colony to independence, but lost the elections in 1984 to James Mitchell's NDP, which was in power for three successive terms, but the party, which changed leadership for five months when Eustace took over, lost the government because a vibrant campaign and demonstration by Gonsalves forced a snap election to which the NDP succumbed. Gonsalves, whose small party, Movement for National Unity (MNU), merged with the Labour Party, shortly became the leader of the merged and strong ULP. He has been in power since 2001, and is closely associated with Cuba, and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Gonsalves lost a referendum on November 25 last year, when he was seeking a mandate to amend the constitution of the country to have a president instead of a Governor General and to remove the Privy Council as the final appellate court, replacing it with the regional Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). However, it is my view that the lost referendum is not a clear indication of the results of Monday's elections because the referendum had sought to amend the Constitution, and was not a general election to elect a government. More so, it is reported that a large number of ULP supporters did not vote in November. Reports from Kingstown state that a large number of voters want a change of government, but political pundits feel that the opposition NDP is too weak, especially in its leadership, despite the fact that veteran Mitchell, a Prime Minister for 17 years, is on the campaign trail, trying to assist the party that he founded. There have been complaints from the opposition camp of irregularities, but the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have sent separate teams to observe and to oversee the elections. Both the incumbent ULP and the NDP are fielding 15 candidates each, and the third party, the Green Party (GP) led by Ivan O'Neal, has 13 candidates. The voters are not taking the Green Party seriously because it is extremely weak. Nevertheless it was the first party which presented its manifesto weeks ago for perusal and scrutiny. The ULP started to distribute theirs a little over a week ago and the NDP as late as Friday -- less than three days before the elections. Both the incumbent ULP and the opposition NDP are confident of victory, but indications are that it will be a nail biting finish, but the voters, the Diaspora -- which has a keen interest -- and the region as a whole will have to wait until Monday night to know the results.- Oscar Ramjeet