Antigua and Barbuda Hold Elections

On Wednesday, the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda will participate in elections to renew the Senate and the House of Representatives.

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Election day will take place from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time. Although voting is not compulsory, it is expected that 60,916 citizens will attend the elections.

Antigua and Barbuda has 17 constituencies that are defined with reference to St. John, St. Mary, All Saints, St. Luke, St. George, St. Peter, St. Philip, St. Paul, and Barbuda.

Josephine Tamai, the chief elections officer of the Belize Department of Elections and Boundaries, will lead an electoral observation mission sent by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Formed at the special request of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, this commission will meet with political party leaders and election officials. It will monitor the opening of the poll, the casting of votes, the closing of the poll, and the counting of the ballots.

A Commonwealth Observer Group will also be present. It will assess the overall development of the election and make recommendations to strengthen the electoral process in Antigua and Barbuda.

Currently, the Antigua and Barbuda Labor Party (ABLP), which is led by Gaston Browne, has 15 of 17 seats in the House of Representatives. The Progressive Party, which ruled the country from 2004 to 2014, has Jamale Pringle as its only representative in Parliament.

Also participating in the elections are the Barbuda People's Movement (BPM), which is a center-left nationalist party that is active only on the island of Barbuda; and the Democratic National Alliance (DNA), which sponsors 16 candidates in these new elections.