00:00In Antigua and Barbuda, citizens continue to go to the polls in Thursday's early elections to elect the political future
00:06of the nation.
00:07For more details, let's go with our special envoy in the island, in the Caribbean island, for more details on
00:12this electoral day.
00:13Welcome, Valen, to From the South once more.
00:17Hello, Luis. Exactly. We are accompanying the entire process that is taking place right now.
00:23We are in St. John's in Antigua, and as we were saying before, this process started very early in the
00:29morning, 6 a.m.
00:31Right now, we are at a different polling station.
00:33This is the Villa Primary School, one of the largest polling districts, actually, in the constituency of St. John's City
00:42West.
00:43Over 2,000, a little bit over 2,000 electors here, and the school coming to exercise their vote.
00:50That is, of course, the number of registered electors.
00:53Let's recall as well that the vote here is eligible for those who have been registered.
01:00That's why there was an important campaign in the month leading to the snap elections that were called in March
01:07by Prime Minister Gaston Brown.
01:09Also, the constituency that we are in right now is the one for which Gaston Brown is running.
01:15He is the candidate for that constituency.
01:17Let's recall, we have 17 constituencies, most of which are having the candidates from the ABLP, the Antigua and Barbuda
01:26Labour Party, and also the UPP, the main opposition.
01:29Then we have the Barbuda People's Movement in Barbuda.
01:33That is a constituency on its own, 17 in total.
01:37And that gets the largest number of those 17 will be able to form government, that is, to elect the
01:45Prime Minister.
01:46Gaston Brown from the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party is seeking a fourth term with the snap elections that he
01:52called in March.
01:54Belen, as you were saying, these are snap elections taking place two years ahead of its scheduled time.
01:59What is the context on which these elections are taking place and in which the people of Antigua and Barbuda
02:04are going to the polls today?
02:08Exactly, Luis.
02:09It's an interesting question because the calling of early elections is one of the possibilities opened by this parliamentary system
02:17in Antigua and Barbuda.
02:18It's also shared in other island nations in the region, for example, and Commonwealth nations in general, the possibility that
02:25the Prime Minister can call elections whenever he seems fit,
02:30whenever he seems that it's a good moment within those five years that is the complete mandate for the people
02:37to come to the polls and elect the next five years.
02:40In this case, just as you were saying, these elections are happening two years ahead, the end of the mandate
02:47that was elected in 2023.
02:49Why right now?
02:50Well, two main reasons.
02:52Analysts first are signaling the, and the PM also signaled this as well, the complex global situation.
02:59We know that, for example, the situation in the Middle East, but also increased pressures in general from the United
03:05States against the entire region,
03:08are placing each nation in a moment in which they need to take measures, decisions in order to combat the
03:15different repercussions,
03:16for example, the increase in prices, in oil prices.
03:19And island nations in particular that are so open to these effects, for example, in tourism, are particularly vulnerable.
03:27This calls for a specific leadership to be able to take those decisions, and it was important to do so
03:35with a validated mandate.
03:37So coming back to the polls and electing, re-electing the next prime minister for the five years will give
03:44that new authority,
03:45or the same one, the possibility to continue taking those important decisions.
03:50Also, analysts are pointing at the possibility of the ruling Antigua and Bermuda Labour Party to running on a good
03:59political momentum.
04:00It is a good moment, for example, for some important industries that are key to Antigua's economic development.
04:07We are talking about tourism and construction, for example.
04:10Coming out from the pandemic, Antigua really showed a re-boost in both drivers of the economy,
04:17and so them being at an important place with significant improvements over the year,
04:23then that could have been also one of the motives that led to Prime Minister Gaston Brown choosing this moment
04:29to call people to the polls.
04:31In any case, the results will be tonight.
04:34So we will be following what is happening here in St. John's, of course, across the island in Bermuda as
04:41well,
04:41to see what will happen in the next five years in Antigua.
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