All over for opposition in Barbados, Mia Mottley’s BLP won all 30 constituencies

In the first general elections held after Barbados became a republic, incumbent Mia Mottley won a landslide victory crushing opposition

Barbados BLP
Barbados BLP

In the first general elections held after Barbados became a republic, incumbent Mia Mottley won a landslide victory, winning all thirty constituencies swept clean by the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). On Thursday morning, around 4 am, the final result was released.

The Democratic Labour Party (DLP), led by Verla De Peiza, and other parties like the coalition Alliance Party for Progress, led by former Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley, were unable to sway the electorate.

The polls opened at 6 am on Wednesday and closed at 6 pm, with the counting beginning at 9 pm.

Barbados BLP
Barbados BLP

Shortly after becoming the world’s newest Republic, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley called snap elections in December 2021, saying she didn’t want her country to “enter the new year by being a divided nation.”

Mia Mottley became Barbados’ first female Prime Minister in 2018, and the country appointed President Sandra Mason after severed relations with the British monarchy in 2022. It is the only country in the Caribbean or Latin America with two female presidents at the moment.

Only sixteen seats are required to achieve a majority in the Barbados assembly, which is the country’s lower house. At the same time, no Senate elections were held because the President appointed a total of 21 members directly.

Mia Mottley and her BLP have a strong focus on Barbados’ housing structure. In the next five years, she planned to develop over 10,000 new homes across the island.

Opposition leaders slammed Mottley for calling snap general elections more than a year early, accusing her of wanting to consolidate power. The assertions were refuted by Mottley, who claimed that the elections were only a stopover on the road to continuing to develop the country.

According to sources, more than 5700 people were unable to exercise their right to vote as a result of contracting COVID-19.