Grenadians are voting in a general election today that at least one opinion poll suggests could be a dead heat, with voter turnout and the choices of undecided and politically unaffiliated voters likely to determine which party forms the next government.
The Parliamentary Elections Office (PEO), which said it is fully prepared for the elections, reported 97,020 registered voters, an increase of 9,454 from the 87,566 registered electors in the 23 June 2022 general election.
There are 46 candidates vying for the 15 seats in Parliament, and polls opened at 6 am and will close at 5 pm, with the first results expected within 2 hours after the close.
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, who is leading the National Democratic Congress (NDC) into the general election a year ahead of the constitutional deadline, is asking the electorate to give his party, which won the June 2023 poll by a 9–6 margin, yet another opportunity to steer the future direction of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
“4 years ago, you entrusted me with the responsibility of serving as your Prime Minister. It was an honour then, it is an honour now, and it is a responsibility I have never taken lightly,” Mitchell said in a national broadcast on the eve of the polls.
Mitchell, an attorney, reminded voters that “leadership is not what we say when the camera is on. It is what we are prepared to do when difficult decisions must be made.
“It means having the courage to engage in difficult national conversations, particularly when those conversations are uncomfortable. It means being consistent in principle, whether speaking in public or behind closed doors,” he added.
But Emmalin Pierre, the first woman ever to lead the main opposition New National Party (NNP) into a general election after its founder and former prime minister Dr Keith Mitchell officially bowed out of active politics this year, is promising relief within her administration’s first 100 days in office, including the removal of taxes on electricity and sugar, abolishing the water levy and exempting monthly incomes of EC$6,000 or less from income tax.
“Our plan will put money back in your pocket and put Grenada back on track,” she said, pledging also tax-free Christmas bonuses this year, rent-to-own housing and National Health Insurance.
In her broadcast, Pierre, who is facing a challenge from Education Minister David Andrew, whom she defeated by just over 200 votes in the 2023 general election, said that economic growth, improved revenue collection and reduced waste would finance the programme.
Former foreign affairs minister, Peter David, who has contested elections in the past on behalf of the NDC and the NNP, is leading his newly formed Democratic People’s Movement (DPM) into the general election and is contesting the Town of St George’s seat, which he has contested and won 4 times since November 2003.
“I believe that the Town of St George is an example, a shining example of people from both parties coming together for their constituency,” David told DPM supporters.
Political observers say his seat will attract particular attention, given that David has never lost an election he contested there, and could emerge as a kingpin should the opinion polls prove correct.
An opinion poll conducted by the North American Caribbean Teachers (NACTA) is predicting a closely contested election, with voter turnout and the choices of undecided and politically unaffiliated voters likely to determine which party forms the next government.
Observer teams from the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) are monitoring the polls.
Source: CMC
