Prime Minister Gaston Browne moments ago urged supporters of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party to get ready for general elections.
“Even though I said 90 days it could be before” Browne told listeners on Pointe FM.
He said he instructed candidates of the ABLP to use the next few weeks to go door to door in an effort to urge constituents to renew their voter ID cards.
“It is known that there will be a general election,” he said.
“I am saying now that there will be a general election within 90 days,” the ABLP leader added.
Yesterday, the ruling party announced Dr. Philmore Benjamin as its candidate for St. Mary’s North, completing its slate of candidates that also includes several young persons.
His announcement follows the March 16 by-election which gave his ABLP a commanding victory over the opposition United Progressive Party in St. Philip’s North.
Earlier on Pointe FM Browne, questioned the readiness of the main opposition UPP to lead a government given their highly publicized internal disagreements.
Antiguans and Barbuda last voted in a general election on January 18, 2023, an election that gave the Gaston Browne administration a nail-biting 3rd term in office.
The ABLP captured nine (9) of the seventeen (17) constituencies, with the United Progressive Party (UPP) capturing six seats and Barbuda People’s Movement winning one seat. The remaining seat was won by an Independent Candidate.
That composition changed when the independent candidate Asot Michael was murdered, the seat then went to ABLP candidate Rawdon Turner in a by-election. Later in the term, UPP MP Anthony Smith aligned himself with the ABLP and now serves as Agriculture Minister in the Browne administration.
Hon. Gaston Browne was sworn is as Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda for a third term on January 19 2023, by Governor General Sir Rodney Williams. This is the first time in the history of Antigua and Barbuda that a Prime Minister has been elected for three consecutive terms.
Former UPP leader Harold Lovell who lost his seat resigned as party leader days after the 2023 general election. He has since retuned to active politics and will represent the party in All Saints West but not as leader.
This time around Browne will face Jamale Pringle of the UPP.
More to come.