Jan 2013 Financial News

Election date set! (Barbados)

Jan 30, 2013

THE speculation is over. Barbadians will go to the polls on Thursday, February 21, to decide which political party will run the affairs of this country for the next five years.

The announcement of the much-anticipated elections date and that of Nomination Day set for Wednesday, February 6, came by way of a press release from the Barbados Government Information Service yesterday evening, just hours after the House of Assembly adjourned with a February 5, 2013 date set for the next sitting. The announcement has also come almost two weeks before the term of the Parliament of Barbados would have officially ended, and ahead of tonight’s meeting which has been dubbed, ‘A Report to the Nation’. The meeting is scheduled to start at 7:00 pm, at the Bay Street Esplanade and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is promising the launch of a performance document.

Yesterday’s release indicated that Prime Minister Freundel Stuart had officially notified Governor General, Sir Elliott Belgrave of the dates, and the “appropriate proclamation duly issued”. This followed widespread speculation yesterday that the announcement would have been made on the floor of Parliament, but the House adjourned after 2:00 pm with no such notice being given, although retiring Member of Parliament (MP) for St. Michael South East, Hamilton Lashley, delivered a farewell speech.

Earlier this month, speaking at the branch opening for Lashley’s successor, Patrick Tannis, the Prime Minister indicated that an election date was his call, and that the boycott of Parliament by the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) would not force his hand. In fact, he said that he had a date for the polls in his mind since the St. John by-election two years ago.

Since January 15, the BLP’s Parliamentary group has not attended sittings of the House of Assembly nor the Senate, contending that the Democratic Labour Party has entered into its sixth year of Government. Their argument has, however, been refuted by the several Government MPs, who have explained that the Constitution states that the five-year term is counted, not from the date on which the elections is won, but the date of the first session of Parliament, which for the 2008-2013 session of Parliament, commenced on February 12, 2008. Therefore, the Government indicated that they were in their right to continue past January 15, 2013.

The last General Elections in this country was held on January 15, 2008, when the Owen Arthur led-BLP lost to the then-Opposition DLP, led by the late David Thompson. At that time, the DLP won a two-thirds majority in Parliament, leaving the BLP with 10 seats. The Government’s majority would later increase to 21, when Hamilton Lashley crossed the floor two years later. (JRT)


Source:
Barbados Advocate
Wednesday January 30, 2013

http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=local&NewsID=28943