KINGSTOWN (Reuters) -St Vincent and the Grenadines’ opposition New Democratic Party leader Godwin Friday declared victory in Thursday’s election in posts on social media, though official results had not yet been released early on Friday.
An NDP win would end the ruling Unity Labour Party’s 24 years in power in the Caribbean country. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, one of the world’s longest-serving democratically elected leaders, has governed since 2001 and was seeking an unprecedented sixth consecutive five-year term.
Local TV showed people dressed in yellow – the party color for the conservative NDP – celebrating during the night with yellow flags, fireworks, plastic trumpets and music.
“Congratulations to my brother,” said Allen Chastanet, a former prime minister and leader of nearby St Lucia’s conservative opposition who is running for election on Monday. “Yellow is the code.”
The slogan is used by supporters of St Lucia’s UWP and Trinidad and Tobago’s UNC, whose leader was elected to a second term in May.
Gonsalves’ administration is one of the last affiliated with the so-called “pink tide”, a wave of left-leaning governments that swept the Americas from the late 1990s.
Gonsalves did not immediately comment on the election outcome. He had previously said he would travel to St Lucia ahead of the neighboring country’s election day to show support for incumbent Prime Minister Philip Pierre.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Friday commended Gonsalves on social media for his “long and dedicated service” and advocacy for more Caribbean regional integration.
He also congratulated Friday, saying Jamaica valued its friendship with St Vincent and praising the country’s “peaceful and democratic process.”
Taiwan’s ambassador also congratulated the NDP. St Vincent is one of Taipei’s last remaining formal diplomatic allies, and the NDP has previously proposed severing relations with Taiwan in favor of closer ties with China.
Their election manifesto, however, did not mention ending ties with Taipei.
(Reporting by Robertson S. Henry; Additional reporting by Sarah Morland and Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Writing by Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Alex Richardson)
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