Barbados celebrará el 19 de enero sus primeras elecciones como república
La primera ministra de Barbados, Mia Mottley, convocó el lunes a la celebración de elecciones anticipadas para el 19 de enero próximo, en lo que serán los primeros comicios de la nación caribeña como república tras cortar lazos con la monarquía británica.
En un discurso ofrecido a la nación, Mottley aconsejó a la presidenta Sandra Manson disolver el parlamento de manera inmediata.
«A principios de esta noche me reuní con Sandra Mason, presidenta de Barbados y le aconsejé que disolviera el actual Parlamento con efecto inmediato”, expresó la primera ministra.
Announcement of General Elections in Barbados – Rebroadcast: Address to the Nation by the Prime Minister (Dec. 27, 2021) https://t.co/cRPH3A4bAH via @YouTube
— Mia Amor Mottley (@miaamormottley) December 28, 2021
“Además, le advertí que ella, no en nombre de Su Majestad la Reina, sino por derecho propio como presidenta de la República de Barbados, expidiera una orden judicial para la celebración de las nuevas elecciones en Barbados», subrayó.
Mottley dijo que será a partir del 3 de enero entrante que inicie la recepción de postulaciones para estos comicios, que estaban previstos inicialmente a llevarse a cabo durante el año 2023.
En medio de este escenario la primera ministra enumeró los logros económicos y financieros de su Gobierno y aseguró que la economía del país se está recuperando pese al impacto negativo que la pandemia de la Covid-19 generó a la industria del turismo.
Barbados se convirtió en noviembre pasado en la República más joven del mundo al abandonar totalmente su pasado colonial tras renunciar a la reina de Inglaterra como jefa de Estado.
Barbadians Head to the Polls on January 19th in Snap Election
Por Patrick Green
The people of Barbados will head to the polls on January 19th in a snap election, to elect a new government, just three years after the last election on May 24, 2018. Constitutionally, the next election is due in 2023.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley made the announcement of the snap election on Monday night, using her social media accounts. Nomination day has been set for January 3rd.
In a national broadcast, the first woman to head a government in Barbados, said she has advised President Sandra Mason to dissolve parliament with immediate effect.
In the last general elections Mottley led the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) to a commanding victory over the then ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) sweeping all 30 seats in the Parliament.
But since then, one of the legislators, Bishop Joseph Atherley, left to become Opposition Leader.
In a 37-minute address to the nation, Mottley listed her government’s economic and financial achievements and said the economy was recovering despite the effects caused by the Covid-19 pandemic to the tourism industry.
“I need for us to unite around a common cause, unite behind a single government, unite behind a single leader,” she said, pledging to give support to whoever wins the election.
“We have, my friends, a country to build out, and we have a people to mold,” she told Barbadians. “Let us go on confident that if we can do so united as a people, there is no major challenge that can knock us down for the count fully.”
But the announcement immediately drew criticism from President of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), Verla De Peiza. De Peiza said: “It is clear that the government of the day has succumbed to feelings of panic and that the nation’s first call, which is its people’s safety, has been set aside to pursue selfish ends which expose our people to great harm and possible death.”
The DLP leader said: “There is no compelling argument for an election to be called 17 months out, except to be self-serving. This is not what we expect of sound leadership,” Questioning the economic progress of Barbadians since 2018, She asked whether they are better off than 2018 or finding it easier to feed their families.
De Peiza added that this was the time to vote for a Government that would put the people first and her party’s “rejuvenated, young and committed team is best placed to take this country forward.”
In anticipation of the criticism, and to answer those who suggested that she was power-hungry, Prime Minister Mottley mentioned her party’s overwhelming majority in parliament and noted she still had much of her first term left to serve.
“Were I motivated solely by the need to survive,” she said, “we could bask, my friends, in the glory of a 29-1 parliament and ride COVID out for the next 18 months.”
