Those who withdrew from the recent televised by-election debate did a disservice to the people of St George North, says Barbados Labour Party (BLP) candidate Toni Moore.
She said the live televised debate helped to give constituents more insight into their choices for the November 11 by-election.
“The debate in a COVID-19 environment was great from its conception. Unfortunately, all parties did not view the debate that way. If we had a situation in which all parties who were contesting the election made themselves available for debate, I think it would have been better giving the constituency and the public a clearer understanding of how the candidates can articulate the issues.
“So, I think the ones who didn’t participate would have done the constituency of St George North a disservice. It is one thing to be able to speak to issues on a platform where you have the advantage of preparing a script but it is another thing to be able to speak spontaneously to issues of national and parochial concern,” Moore said at the Glebe yesterday where the BLP continued their canvassing.
Ahead of the debate which Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced last month, candidates of three parties withdrew for various reasons. As a result, only Moore, head of Solutions Barbados Grenville Phillips and Alex Mitchell, of Bajan Free Party participated in the controversial event.
Campaign manager Dwight Sutherland said the BLP was confident and proud of Moore’s performance. He promised that they would be seeking to speak to all voters in the constituency.
“We have to see every single elector between when we started and on the (10th of November). It has been going well. The candidate is fully energised, so I am happy with her performance and we will keep up the momentum,” Sutherland said. (TG)
