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Antigua and Barbuda is preparing to hold general elections on Thursday, April 30th with the governing party of Prime Minister Gaston Browne seeking a fourth term in office. Our correspondent, Belen de los Santos brings us more details.
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00:12Antigua and Barbura is set to hold the general elections this Thursday, April 30th.
00:17Our special envoy Belén de los Santos is there and brings us more details in an interview
00:22with Caribbean specialist journalist and head of the news at Antigua's ABC station Garfield Burford.
00:32Hello studios, it's a pleasure to meet you once again, greeting you from St. John's
00:37in Antigua and Barbuda.
00:39As you know, we've been hearing throughout the day and we're waiting for the big day tomorrow,
00:44elections on April 30th and we are so very pleased to be joined now by Garfield Burford,
00:51a journalist here in Antigua but specializing in the entire region, also the head of news
00:56of local network ABS. It is such a pleasure to have you with us once again, Garfield. Thank
01:03you for joining us here in Telcer. Thank you so much, really appreciate it and really great
01:08speaking with you as well, Belén. And hello to your great audience back in Venezuela and across
01:13the region. And you know, across the region, we are all trying to understand and get to know what
01:19is really happening here in Antigua. That is the idea because we know that every process here has
01:26to do with the entire region, but every process is particular as well. And who better to explain
01:31this to us than yourself? So tell us Garfield, how is Antigua arriving to this election right now?
01:38Absolutely. So the last general election, Belén was held in 2023, January of 2023. There is a five-year
01:44term for after an election. So the next general election was constitutional due no later than
01:502028. However, the prime minister, Gaston Brown of the Antigua Bobby the Labour Party has gone to
01:55an election early. So he's calling the election just under two years before they were constitutional
02:00due. Within the system, the Westminster system, the prime minister has the opportunity, the prerogative,
02:07the authority to call the election anytime within the five years. So he doesn't have to wait
02:11until the five years. Now, why would he do that, for example? What would be a politically
02:16motivated decision to call for that snap election? Right. He's indicated that he's doing it because
02:22of the geopolitical challenges across the world. So the world is facing conflicts, trade tensions,
02:28and several other challenges that are upending the global order. He thinks that it is important
02:34for there to be stability, political stability in Antigua, Barbados. So he says that now is the best
02:39time to go to an election so that there can be a settled political environment here in Antigua,
02:44Barbados, as the country focuses on the challenges it faces in the region and, of course, the world
02:50economy. Antigua, Barbados, Belen is a very small, open, import-dependent economy. It depends a lot
02:55on tourism. We're right here, for example, at Heritage Quay, one of the prime cruise tourism spots in
03:00St. John's, Antigua. That's where, of course, behind us, where the cruise ships come in to bring
03:05thousands of cruise passengers. The economy thrives on tourism. And so any challenges across the world,
03:11whether it be energy prices that have gone up, pushing up airline tickets, they impact on the country
03:17in terms of tourism. The country is also dependent on construction and other services to drive economic
03:23activity. So very small, open, import-dependent economy impacted by what's happening in the world.
03:29The prime minister says it's important to have these elections early to ensure that, at this point,
03:33to ensure that that's settled, that the country wouldn't have to be focusing on that going
03:37forward as it faces what's happening in the world. Excellent. So clear. And also for our audience,
03:43just following the process, how can we look into what is happening at Antigua and look at the parties
03:50that are involved in this election? You were, of course, mentioning the ruling party, the Labour Party
03:55of Antigua and Barbuda, and also you have in the opposition the UPP, the United Progressive Party.
04:00How would you characterize those two movements in terms of what they're focusing in, in terms of what
04:07they represent, of what project they're bringing to their campaigns and, well, possibly to the next five
04:13years? Indeed. Right. So let's look at the two major parties. There are three parties, actually four,
04:19about three major parties in this country. The ABLP, as you mentioned, the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party,
04:25of the Prime Minister Gaston Brown, the United Progressive Party, the UPP, the main opposition party,
04:29another opposition party, the DNA, the Democratic National Alliance, not contesting. I should also mention,
04:34just before I mention, just before I respond to what you mentioned as well, Belen, another consideration
04:39that political observers have pointed to, in addition to what the Prime Minister mentioned, that it's important
04:44to go early, get the elections out of the way, get political stability and certainty in this country,
04:49and, of course, given what's happening in the world. There's also the consideration that he's going early
04:54so that he can capitalize on what he sees as a political advantage, because the main opposition,
04:59the United Progressive Party, is not as strong as it was leading into the last general election.
05:04So it has become politically more tenuous in terms of its position. It has lost some members.
05:10Some of its members have resigned, going over to the main, the governing ABLP. And it is seen to be
05:17suffering from internal disunity. So it is not as united, not as strong. That's what political
05:21observers have pointed to. So the Prime Minister would have thought about striking while the iron
05:26is hot, capitalizing on a good political moment, a favorable political moment, because the ABLP had
05:32suffered significant losses in the last general election, barely surviving. It had just won the
05:37bare minimum of nine seats to retain government in 2023. So the Prime Minister now sees it as an
05:43opportunity to strengthen his political hand and to take advantage of what he sees as a favorable
05:49political winds, where the swing is towards the ABLP, towards the Labour Party, as opposed to what was
05:56happening leading up to the last election against the Labour Party.
05:58And the country being, I'm sorry, and the country being in another moment, right, economically as well,
06:04because the last election was in 2023. We were only a couple of years after the pandemic with the
06:10effect it had in tourism, of course. And I assume that now, two years in, three years in,
06:16we are looking at a different perspective in terms of how the country came out of the pandemic and the
06:22effects not only in Antigua, but in the Caribbean as a whole.
06:25Precisely. Antigua, Barbuda was one of the most significantly affected countries during the COVID-19
06:30pandemic, because as we said, tourism, this main industry, about 60%, upwards of 60% of economic
06:36activity generated by tourism. It employs thousands of people. And of course, that's where most of the
06:41foreign exchange comes into the country. So, tourism being locked down as a result of the COVID-19
06:46pandemic, the country was significantly affected. One of the first to open up, though, during a COVID-19
06:51pandemic, accepting flights coming into the country. And so, the Prime Minister has said in interviews,
06:56numerous interviews, including one that I did with him just two days ago, he said that the country not only
07:01bounced back, but it bounced forward, because it had a very strong recovery, a vibrant, robust recovery, and that
07:07allowed the economy to recover the losses that it encountered during COVID-19.
07:12But to the point that you mentioned, in relation to the two parties, what their political
07:16platforms are, the messaging, the ABLP has said that its campaign theme is Renaissance, a new era of
07:22progress and development for Antigua, Barbuda. The Prime Minister has said that he wants to build on
07:28the momentum that he sees, or he thinks that his party has been able to deliver for Antigua, Barbuda.
07:33So, there's been a strong tourism activity, a strong construction activity, and the economy has
07:38been growing by around about four to five percent over the last four to five years. So, he wants to
07:44continue that, and he says that the country should stay with what he considers to be strong and stable
07:49leadership, steady leadership, especially during a time of global uncertainty, geopolitical flocks.
07:54The main opposition, the United Progressive Party, says government must work for you. That's the message
07:59that the main opposition party has been pushing, and it wants to, it criticizes the government for
08:05failings in what it considers to be failings in providing basic social services, and so on. So, it points to
08:12the condition of the roads, water supply, health care, and so on. So, it feels that the government is not
08:18delivering as much as it should be delivering to the people of Antigua, Barbuda. And the income and wealth
08:24distribution in the country points to that, that it's not as equally distributed. And so, there are
08:30pockets of people who are not benefiting from the growth in the economy. So, generally, that's the
08:34platform. How are the two parties stacking up in terms of the ideology? So, the main, the governing
08:40ABLP is left of center. It's a labor movement that is, the overarching principle is what the Prime
08:46Minister calls empowerment capitalism. Previously, it was called entrepreneurial socialism. So, he's moved
08:52away from the socialist construct, or the name, because it might ring, you know, a little bit
08:57unfavorably in some quarters. So, he's now called it empowerment capitalism. But essentially, it has
09:03a bit of a socialist character. So, he's left of center, and the main opposition, United Progressive
09:08Party, is more right of center in relation to its policies, although it has adjusted its policies
09:14to make sure that it's more politically viable. As it relates to whether or not that will be
09:19effective, let's see what happens tomorrow in the elections. Exactly. And, well, just to end up
09:24with a general outlook on the Caribbean, we know that this, this effect and this event impact the
09:31region as a whole. And you were just mentioning, and the PM has mentioned in numerous times talking
09:38about the calling of the snap election, the effect of the global uncertainty, and these movements that
09:44are impacting, of course, every nation, but in particularly small island developing nations,
09:49for example, like Antigua. How would you say that such a process that, like the one that is
09:55happening right now, could impact or sort of reflect a wider movement of what is happening in the region?
10:01Yes, that's an excellent question, Belen. So, this election being very, very closely watched,
10:07there's so much anticipation, so much intrigue, so much attention turned on Antigua-Barbita because
10:13of this election. One, across the Caribbean, we have seen over the last six months or so several
10:19elections. There have been elections in St. Vincent of the Grenadines, in St. Lucia, in, of course,
10:25Barbados recently, and upcoming, we should be seeing another election in Bahamas coming up on the 12th of
10:31May. Quite a bit of elections. A lot of individuals, a lot of observers will be looking keenly
10:36as to whether or not there is any sort of movement in the region. When, for example, St. Vincent of
10:41the
10:41Grenadines changed from Dr. Ralph Gonzalez, left of center of the United Labour Party, and moved
10:50towards the opposition, it was felt that perhaps that was a bit of a starting to change. However,
10:55that flow was ebbed, that trend was bucked in St. Lucia. Just a few days later. Just a few days
11:00later in
11:01St. Lucia because the country there is staying and, in fact, delivering a stronger mandate than the
11:06Labour Party, which is, again, left of center, centrist or left of center. And, of course,
11:12Barbados, the country also staying with the Mia Motley, left of center, centrist or left of center.
11:19So, people are looking as to whether or not which trend will continue in Antigua, Barbados. Will it
11:24be the trend towards staying with the government in office, which is, again, left of center here in
11:31Antigua, Barbados, or will it be changing towards an opposition which is centrist and more right of
11:36center? So, let's see how that one pans out. So, a lot of attention, Belen, being turned on Antigua,
11:41Barbados, the region and beyond, looking on very, very closely as well. There's also the element of
11:47U.S. visa restrictions. Antigua, Barbados has been affected by U.S. visa restrictions, as is Dominica,
11:52as is Grenada. Citizens from those countries who are seeking new visas have some more restrictions to face.
11:59In fact, they have a bond of up to 15,000 U.S. dollars that they have to pay, refundable,
12:03but it is a significant challenge. So, that has even been one of the points in the campaign.
12:09The opposition, UPP, has said that it believes that it is in a better position to negotiate with
12:14the U.S. to have these visa restrictions lifted. The governing Antigua, Barbados, the Labour Party
12:19is saying, we expect, we're in talks with the U.S., and we expect that possibly by June, when that
12:25period ends for these restrictions, that they will be discontinued. So, again, both
12:29parties are posturing on this issue of the visa restrictions. It's an issue for people as
12:35well, because especially for those who want to travel for business or for other issues.
12:39But the ABLP is saying that the UPP is being disingenuous because it cannot unilaterally,
12:45it can do nothing to reverse the visa restrictions unless the U.S. really wants to do it.
12:51And according to the ABLP, this is a broader issue that the U.S. has been cracking down on
12:56the Trump administration on travel from certain parts of the world. And so, the ABLP is saying
13:00it has nothing to do with us in government. It has nothing to do with the Prime Minister.
13:05It is a broader move by the U.S. to crack down on immigration. So, again, one of those issues
13:09that both parties have different perspectives on and have been, you know, kind of trying to
13:13posture to give themselves a political advantage in relation to this one.
13:17So, everything will be up tomorrow. So, tomorrow is the day we are going to definitely be looking
13:23forward to see how everything that we've been talking about, it really plays out at the day
13:28tomorrow, April 30th, when Antigua and Bermuda, we all go to the polls to see what happens in the
13:37next five years. So, definitely, we'll be following closely and also seeing what we have to analyze
13:43in the day after for that and everything that is coming. We are staying right here in St. John's
13:48and we are following everything here in Telusir. Thank you so much, Garfield, for joining us.
13:53Really appreciate it, Belen. It has been an absolute pleasure and I look forward to working
13:56with your team as well as we get the results tomorrow. So, the polling stations open at six
14:00in the morning and they close at six in the evening. And of course, counting starts perhaps
14:05within the hour after that. We'll see the results, what happens. Will it be continuing
14:09with the Antigua and Bermuda Labour Party? Prime Minister Gaston Brown seeking a fourth
14:13straight term in office, winning the elections in 2014, winning afterwards in 2018 and 2023,
14:18looking for a fourth straight term. The United Progressive Party, Belen, not having won an election
14:23since 2009. We'll be looking for its first taste of electoral victory since 2009. Let's see
14:27what happens. We'll definitely do that. For now, we go back to studios.
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