Opposition Claims Victory In St. Lucia Elections

By NAN Staff Writer

News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Tues. July 27, 2021: Voters in St. Lucia seems to have sent the incumbent United Workers Party (UWP) packing Monday, as the main opposition St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) claimed victory today.

Preliminary results indicate that the SLP could win as many as 13 seats, leaving the Allen Chastanet administration out in the cold after only a one five-year term in office with just 2 seats.

Chastanet’s UWP had swept into power on a massive 11-6 victory in the 2016 general election. While his party seems to have clearly lost the election, he comfortably won his Micoud South seat in Monday’s general election.

SLP leader Phillip J. Pierre, speaking on Choice TV, said that he was “elated” thanking also his supporters in Castries East who ensured that he won the seat for the sixth consecutive occasion, defeating Fortuna Belrose.

He said he intends to be a government for the entire country and is likely to be sworn in later on today.

In addition, voters created history in the Caribbean Island by electing two independent candidates to the country’s 17-member Parliament. Among them is the former prime minister Stephenson King, who quit the ruling UWP to contest the Castries North constituency, which he has been representing for nearly three decades as an independent. And independent candidate, Richard Frederick defeated the incumbent Foreign Affairs Minister, Sarah Flood Beaubrun in the Castries Central seat.

Also winning Monday, was former prime minister Dr. Kenny Anthony, who won the Vieux Fort south seat, defeating National Security Minister, Hermangild Francis by a margin of 2,747 to 1364.

Chastanet has said the results of Monday’s general elections that resulted in his UWP suffering a heavy defeat has come as a “shock,” but that he remains confident the policies and programs initiated by his administration over the last five years would put St. Lucia “on the right foot to true progress.”