ULP returned for a third term

Kingstown turned into a sea of red Monday evening, as hundreds of supporters of the Unity Labour Party (ULP) converged on capital Kingstown to celebrate their party’s return to office, just barely, for a third term.

Long before official results had been released, news quickly spread that the Dr. Ralph Gonsalves led ULP had managed to hold on to eight of the 15 seats at stake. The New Democratic Party, led by Arnhim Eustace, took the other 7 seats.

The ULP was victorious in the North Windward, North Central Windward, South Central Windward, South Windward, Marriaqua, East St. George, West St. George and Central Leeward constituencies.

The NDP took home the Northern Grenadines, Southern Grenadines, West Kingstown, East Kingstown, Central Kingstown, South Leeward and North Leeward seats, increasing their tally from the three seats the party had held in the last two parliaments.

The ULP’s third term victory saw the party losing four of the seats it had held in the previous two terms: North Leeward, South Leeward, West Kingstown and Central Kingstown.

The Organization of American States (OAS) issued a report on Tuesday, said which said “the election was conducted with minimal incidents and complied with international standards for inclusiveness and transparency.”

The long lines at the polling stations early on Monday had observers predicting that the voter turnout would be high, but at the close of the poll, the voter turnout was 61.5 per cent, down from the 63 per cent turnout in the 2005 general elections.

The ULP, which won the approval of 55.47 per cent of the voters in the 2005 elections, managed just 51.61 per cent this time around. The NDP increased their showing from 44.45 per cent in 2005 to 47.78 per cent this time around. The Green Party, which fielded 13 candidates in the elections, got 0.21 per cent, up from 0.064 per cent in 2005.