Prime Minister Gaston Browne has written to three regional and international organizations requesting that they send representatives to observe the general election, the date for which he is expected to announce later this week.
In hs letters to the Guyana-based Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat, Browne wrote it is my intention, on Tuesday, 7 Apri 2026, to announce the date for the holding of general elections to elect a new government”.
Browne, who is seeking a fourth consecutive term as prime minister, said that in these circumstances the Antigua and Barbuda government “would welcome the presence of an Electoral Observer Mission,” adding that “all customary facilities and courtesies accorded to previous Electoral Observer Missions will be extended”.
Governor General Sir Rodney Williams, acting under Section 60(1) of the Constitution and on the advice of Prime Minister Gaston Browne, dissolved the parliament paving the way for the general election five months ahead of the constitutional deadline.
The election is expected to be a straight fight between the ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) and the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP). One political party, the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) has already announced that it will not be fielding candidates in the elections.
In the last general election which was held on January 18, 2023, the ruling ABLP won nine of the 17 seats with the others going to the UPP and a lone independent candidate. (CMC)
