Nominations to select the Barbados Labour Party’s next candidate for St Joseph are likely to take place later this month, says Ryan Brathwaite, the man expected to run in place of long-serving Member of Parliament and Attorney General Dale Marshall.
Brathwaite, who is president of the St Joseph branch, said the constituency has been gearing up even before Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley announced on October 25 that the process will begin soon.
“Yes, things have been set in motion already since the Prime Minister’s announcement. To be honest, we have been preparing for a nomination for a while now, because we did have some idea that Dale Marshall was no longer going to be running for the seat,” he said recently.
While stressing that the official date will come from the party, he added: “We expect that perhaps later this month, that we could look forward to the nomination.”
Brathwaite said there were no challengers so far.
“Up until now, I don’t think anybody has expressed an interest, not to the branch at least. I haven’t been made aware of anyone who has expressed an interest in contesting the nomination. Of course, that can change, but I’m unaware of anybody.”
The BLP stronghold was once represented Sir Grantley Adams but Brathwaite stressed there will be no complacency.
“I am a son of St Joseph and there can be no complacency because this is the seat that [Sir] Grantley Adams, who’s the father of the Barbados Labour Party, first represented. I’ve spent the last 17 years . . . working along Dale Marshall. This process . . . I’ve been working [towards] for a very long time.”
