00:00An electoral season is about to kick off in the Caribbean, in Antigua and Barbuda.
00:05Prime Minister Gaston Brown dissolved Parliament and called for general elections on April 30th.
00:10Meanwhile, in the Bahamas, opposition leader Michael Pintar has requested election observation
00:14from international bodies for the May 12 polls.
00:18To explain this phenomenon, we have international analyst Peter Wickham from Barbados
00:23in an exclusive interview with Telesur.
00:26Hey, well, there are a couple of things.
00:29I would say that the reason that we're having a lot of electoral activity is because leaders
00:33have an option to call elections early.
00:36That's one of the key features of our political system, that an election is called or can be
00:41called within five years or at the time of the choosing of the leader.
00:45As a result of that, leaders have the flexibility to go at a time that's more convenient to them.
00:50We've seen a series of relatively weak oppositions, and as a result, governments are pursuing
00:55opportunities to essentially get themselves re-elected because when they look at the global environment,
01:02there seems to be a horrible wind blowing our way in respect of increasing our prices
01:07and the ability to cope.
01:10All of us in the Caribbean import inflation.
01:14Inflation is imported where we take prices from overseas.
01:19So where there's an increase in energy, we are going to be paying additional costs.
01:22And as a result, it makes good political sense to minimize that risk by calling an election
01:28before the impact of the Gulf War hits home in a situation where you have the opportunity.
01:35And I think that in terms of the recent electoral activity across the region, that's probably
01:40one of the primary factors.
01:42The cost of living is high.
01:44People are concerned that it will be harder to become elected when it gets higher.
01:48And we're seeing increases coming as a result of the war in the Gulf.
01:53We have also referred to the situation in Cuba and why other Caribbean nations feel passionately
01:58about the island, given its continuous support of other countries over the year.
02:04Cuba has stood by the region in terms of direct assistance, in terms of medical assistance
02:10during COVID, and has also trained many doctors, nurses, and vets and dentists and so on across
02:18the region over the years.
02:20We feel a passionate pay to Cuba.
02:23And I think that there's a concern that people have at a personal level, you know, that this
02:27is what is being done to Cuba, that the blockade is causing a shortage of fuel.
02:33Many years, Cuba would invite scores of Caribbean people to have high operations in Cuba.
02:39And now we're seeing that same partner, that same, one could say, big brother, who assisted
02:44us heavily.
02:45It is essentially being brought to the knees by an embargo that so many people feel is
02:49unfair.
02:49So I would say that there's a visceral passion in regard of what is happening in Cuba that
02:54that people are turned off by.
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