Mia Mottley Sworn In for 2nd Term As Barbados Prime Minister

On Thursday, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley was sworn in for a second term, following her recent triumph in the Caribbean nation's first election since becoming a republic in November 2021.

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"We thank the people of Barbados for the clear support they gave us in the election," said Mottley, leader of the ruling Barbados Labor Party (BLP), which won all 30 seats in Parliament.

During her swearing-in ceremony, she promised to continue the process of transformation in her country so as to achieve higher levels of development and eradicate poverty.

"We are confident that the people have spoken with a decisively unanimous and clear voice," Mottley said as she celebrated the win.

Nine independent candidates and 108 candidates sponsored by seven political parties took part in the Barbadian general elections. Some 266,330 people were called for this democratic process, 50 percent of whom cast their vote.

During his new administration, PM Mottley will face the challenge of substantially raising employment levels on an island where tourism is a very important economic activity but also hard hit by the global epidemiological situation.

“During her first term, in 2018, she restructured the national debt and boosted international reserves sixfold, restoring confidence in the currency peg with the U.S. dollar. But economic growth remains elusive. Output stagnated for a decade and a half even before the COVID-19 pandemic triggered an 18 percent slump in 2020,” Bloomberg recalled.