KINGSTOWN (Reuters) -St Vincent and the Grenadines’ conservative opposition New Democratic Party won a landslide victory in Thursday’s general election, official data showed on Friday, snatching all but one of 15 seats up for re-election.
The NDP win ends the Unity Labour Party’s 24 years in power in the small Caribbean archipelago, and means NDP leader Godwin Friday will replace Ralph Gonsalves, one of the world’s longest-serving democratically-elected leaders, as prime minister.
Gonsalves was seeking an unprecedented sixth consecutive five-year term. He was the only ULP member to retain a contested seat, one he has held since 1994.
Turnout came in at 62%, official data showed.
Gonsalves’ administration was 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.
NDP leader Godwin Friday arrived at the capital’s ferry terminal ahead of his afternoon swearing-in ceremony to be greeted by crowds dressed in NDP yellow celebrating his victory with confetti, 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 did not immediately comment on the election outcome. He had previously said he would travel to nearby St Lucia to show support for the incumbent prime minister, Philip Pierre.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness 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 its “peaceful and democratic process”.
Taiwan’s ambassador also congratulated the NDP. St Vincent is one of Taipei’s last remaining formal diplomatic allies.
The NDP has previously proposed severing relations with Taiwan in favor of closer ties with China, although its election manifesto did not mention this.
The election comes as the U.S. escalates a military build-up in the Caribbean that it says aims to curb drug trafficking around Venezuela. The Dominican Republic and nearby Trinidad and Tobago have allowed U.S. vessels to dock.
(Reporting by Robertson S. Henry; Additional reporting by Sarah Morland and Aida Pelaez-Fernandez; Writing by Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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