Grenadians went to the polls Thursday to elect a new government, with Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell seeking a second term against challengers led by opposition leader Emmalin Pierre and former Foreign Affairs Minister Peter David.

A total of 97,020 people are registered to vote, with 46 candidates contesting the 15 seats in the House of Representatives. Polls opened at 6 a.m. and are scheduled to close at 5 p.m., local time.

Mitchell’s National Democratic Congress won nine seats in the June 2022 election, defeating the New National Party, which secured six. He called this election almost a year before the constitutional deadline in October 2027.

Pierre is the first woman to lead the NNP into a general election, following the departure of former Prime Minister Keith Mitchell from active politics. David, who previously contested elections for both major parties, is leading the Democratic People’s Movement.

The campaign has included competing promises on the cost of living and public services. Pierre has pledged tax relief, including removing taxes on electricity and sugar, abolishing the water levy and exempting monthly incomes of EC$6,000 or less from income tax.

Voting follows a High Court decision Wednesday rejecting a legal challenge to the dissolution of Parliament. Justice Agnes Actie ruled that the prime minister had acted in accordance with the Constitution and the law, clearing the way for the election to proceed.

Regional and international observers are monitoring the process. CARICOM’s 11-member mission, headed by Saint Lucia’s Chief Elections Officer Herman St. Helen, includes Elisa Graham of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Department.

The mission will observe voting, ballot counting and the declaration of results, and is expected to issue its preliminary assessment Friday.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: Grenadians vote in general election as PM Dickon Mitchell seeks second term.