The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is staging the final meeting for the 2022 General Election campaign in Barbados tonight at Independence Square, The City.
Deputy campaign manager, David Bowen, told Nation News this would be the final appeal to voters, but also to “Dems” to “come home”.
He said the public would have seen the contrast among the campaigns, including one which clearly had a lot of money behind it.
“They focused on appealing to the bodies of the Barbadian public in terms of partying and wining and dining and so forth. We focused on the minds of the Barbadians through education, through substantive presentations and indeed in terms of our Manifesto,” Bowen said.
The DLP will field a full line-up of 30 candidates in the election, with president Verla De Peiza contesting the St Lucy riding.
Some of the “old guard” from the failed 2018 30-0 hammering by the Barbados Labour Party have returned, including Richard Sealy, Michael Lashley QC, Dr David Estwick and Dr Denis Lowe, but there is also a cadre of young and promising members including Courie Cox, Rasheed Belgrave and Dawn-Marie Armstrong.
Over the course of the two-week campaign, the DLP campaign keyed in on several issues. Candidates spoke in almost one voice on the issue of leadership style and warned against despotism and threats to the island’s democracy. Also on the agenda were high debt, poor management of COVID-19, the calling of the election during the pandemic, vaccine mandates, an online school programme which disadvantages many, the treatment of nurses, poor representation at the constituency level and overall concern about the direction of the country.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced a change to the way meetings are traditionally held. Numbers are limited at actual venues, so tonight’s meeting will also be streamed tonight on the various DLP platforms.
Voting for the 2022 General Election in Barbados commences at 6 a.m. on Wednesday and the polls close at 6 p.m.
The Electoral and Boundaries Commission is advising those casting their ballots to expect delays and longer lines. (SAT)
