St Lucia’s Prime Minister Stephenson King says general elections will be held this year, dismissing speculation that he would drag out the date to March 2012 in keeping with the constitutional deadline.
The two main political parties – the ruling United Workers Party (UWP) and the main opposition St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) – have in recent weeks stepped up campaign activities in anticipation of the polls being held this year.
The island’s oldest newspaper, the Voice, has been publishing opinion polls that favour an opposition victory, but King, who appeared on a local radio programme, has dismissed the findings, insisting that the UWP would be victorious.
SLP leader Dr. Kenny Anthony in an immediate response said he was not surprised at the Prime Minister’s statement since he has few options available to him now.
In the 2006 general election, the UWP won 11 of the 17 seats in the Parliament with the remaining six seats going to the SLP, which was seeking a third consecutive term in office. (CMC)
