The battle for the St James North constituency has intensified with the announcement that the by-election there will take place on May 21 – just under four weeks after the seat was vacated by Edmund Hinkson.
Both the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP) are already planning to descend on the rural constituency this weekend in attempts to woo voters.
Yesterday evening, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley revealed the by-election date and that Nomination Day would be May 6 in a statement, adding she had received a letter from the President of Barbados about the vacancy arising from Hinkson’s resignation which took effect yesterday.
Mottley acknowledged that it was a “quick election” and appealed to Barbadians to approach the important date by showing the “best of who we are – respectful, responsible and proud”.
‘Uphold dignity’ So far only the two parties have declared an interest in contesting the by-election, with the DLP introducing university lecturer and human rights activist Felicia Dujon on Wednesday, and the BLP making Minister of Educational Transformation Senator Chad Blackman’s candidacy official on Thursday. In 2022 it was a straight fight between Hinkson and the DLP’s Charles Worrell in the General Election of that year.
Hinkson was Member of Parliament for that constituency for 12 years, first winning in 2013 and then in 2018 and 2022.
In announcing the date, Mottley said: “Let us exercise our rights peacefully, uphold the dignity of the process and set a positive example for all future generations. Every word that we speak, every action that we take, reflects not just on ourselves but on this community which we cherish. Together, let us make this a byelection of which we can all be proud.”
It is the first time that the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition Ralph Thorne and the political leadership of the DLP will come up against each other in a contest in their respective roles. Thorne quit the BLP under Mottley’s leadership in February last year and assumed the political reins of the DLP soon after and until this by-election, the two engaged in verbal clashes inside and outside of the House of Assembly.
Yesterday, Thorne said the events had “not met us with surprise” as since last December in the House, he announced Hinkson’s pending resignation and “we have accurately foreshadowed all subsequent events”.
“It is ironic that a
Government that has generally lacked transparency with the people’s business has also been so transparent with its political secrets. Augmenting the work that was already started in St James North, our candidate and our volunteers will continue to commit all energies to ensuring success in this by-election for the Democratic Labour Party,” he said.
He said Mottley’s curious description of the date as a “quick election” will attract the attention of Barbadians who remain wary of the Government’s stratagem of electoral ambush.
“We assure Babadians that the Democratic Labour Party is ready. Ours will be a platform of decency, moral substance and the articulation of progressive policy for all Barbadians,” he said, adding the party was trusting in God.
Events planned
Today both parties have major canvassing events planned and key meetings for tomorrow where it is expected that other details about the campaign, including managers, will be disclosed.
Supporters of the DLP are to gather this afternoon for Community Connections, a mass canvass event in the constituency in support of Dujon. Tomorrow, she will be one of the main speakers when the DLP hosts its northern zonal meeting at Alexandra School in St Peter.
Mottley said she and her party looked forward to working with Blackman as they moved across St James North. Two of those events take place today – the mass canvassing in Upper Carlton during the day and a 5 p.m. special meeting of the branch at Gordon Greenidge Primary School at which Mottley will speak and Hinkson bid farewell.
In the General Election of May 2018, there were four candidates in the race with Hinkson, the DLP’s Harcourt Husbands, Solutions Barbados’ David Walrond and United Progressive Party’s Grafton Cobham.
May 21 is a significant date in the history of political contests. On that date in 1958 there were by-elections in St John won by Errol Barrow, who would later go on to be Premier and then Prime Minister and National Hero; and in St Joseph, won by the BLP’s Glenroy Straughn.
In 2003, Prime Minister Owen Arthur selected May 21 as the day of the General Election and he and his BLP team went on to defeat the DLP 23 to seven. (AC)
