Fourteen candidates will represent the People’s Coalition for Progress in the February 11 General Election, with the group opting to select a leader after the poll.
Yesterday they paid their $250 election deposits at the Barbados Revenue Authority on Country Road, St Michael.
The coalition, formed by three parties – the Conservative Barbados Leadership Party, United Progressive Party (UPP) and New National Party – presented a united front as they prepare to challenge the established political order in what they characterised as a battle against abuse of power.
“The way that the framers of our Constitution drafted it, it was drafted so that Barbadians could vote for the individuals that they thought could best represent them in Parliament,” said Lynette Eastmond, leader of the UPP. “It wasn’t about party. It was choosing the best people.”
She explained that the coalition will not select a leader until members are elected to Parliament, a decision that underscores their emphasis on individual candidates over party machinery. This approach marks a departure from traditional Barbadian politics, where party leaders are established long before elections.
Among the 15 candidates is Kemar Stuart, running in St John and leader of the NNP. He declared that he and the coalition “will create history in Barbados”.
He took aim at the incumbent in St John, the Barbados Labour Party’s Charles Griffith, and Democratic Labour Party Leader Ralph Thorne who is also vying the seat, claiming to garner more support than both of them “put together”.
Candidate for Christ Church East Ingrid Best emphasised her roots and community service record, noting she had helped four residents secure new houses while living in derelict conditions.
“People in Christ Church East still have pit toilets,” she said, criticising incumbent Wilfred Abrahams. She highlighted unemployment among young people and deteriorating roads as priorities.
Nigel Newton, the St Philip North candidate, framed his third consecutive run for office as a mission to restore quality governance.
“We had leadership with vision, leadership with purpose, leadership who loved the people of Barbados,” he said, “but today, we have, I would say, a group of people who are behaving like a . . . .”
Eastmond criticised the current administration for calling a snap election and failing to attract foreign investment in productive sectors. She also argued that Barbados relies too heavily on tourism while the international business sector dwindles.
“Barbados is living on borrowed money,” she declared, as she proposed to reduce the value added tax rate from 17.5 per cent by expanding the economy and increasing revenue streams. She pledged to meet with as many Barbadians as possible in the coming weeks, dismissing social media campaigning as insufficient engagement with voters’ real concerns. (DDS)
