New Democratic Party (NDP) president Dr Godwin Friday says his party has welcomed Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves announcement of the date for the next general elections, November 27, 2025.
According to Friday, he and his party were expecting the date to be called earlier and they were already prepared had it been announced for an earlier date.
“The bell was finally rung, and of course, we in the New Democratic Party, we were expecting this, we were hoping and urging the government to call elections sooner, because as you know, the state of the country is such that we need to have a referendum on the performance of the present administration, an audit on the performance of government, which comes at the highest level, that is when citizens take up their pens and pencils and vote in a general election,” Friday told a press confrence on Wednesday.
Friday welcomed the announcement, saying “we have been preparing for this in more ways than one.”
Friday said the NDP understand the great significance and “awesome responsibility that is required of us as political leaders, but also of the citizenry of this country, to make a choice when they have the opportunity to do so at general elections.”
Friday is of the view that there are more to play for in the upcoming general elections and Vincentians ought to take the event much more seriously.
“I believe in this case, the impact will be far greater, and so it calls upon us all as citizens to take this solemn duty very, very seriously, to prepare ourselves, expose ourselves to the arguments and the plans and presentations of the New Democratic Party as we prepare for the vote on the 27th of November. Now, this election is about a choice. It is about a choice between a government that has been in office for 25 years, almost, and we have seen how they have performed over the years, where they have made promises and they have broken promises, where conditions in this country have deteriorated, where living standards have declined, where poverty has increased in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where joblessness remains unacceptably high, where crime is out of control, especially violent crime, where our physical infrastructure, the roads, the bridges, the drains, the police stations, the schools, are in a state of disrepair … it reflects very poorly under the record and performance of government in office,” Friday said.
Friday further stated: “So, this is a referendum on that performance. We cannot, as a country, afford another five years of this ULP administration, given the way in which they have performed. Twenty-five years is a long time, but of course, the last five years in particular, we have seen a government that has grown increasingly out of touch with the lives of the people of this country.
Friday said Vincentians have seen a political leadership who believe that it is ordained for them, and who seem to feel that they have a right beyond which is given to them by the people during election time to rule. He said the situation has created conditions now where the people in this country feel that the government does not serve them, where they feel that their concerns are being neglected for other concerns that those who are in office may feel are of greater importance.
“We in the Democratic Party, we have prepared our policies, the programs and plans for the future of this country.
“You have heard that we have articulated the plans for the economic development of the country based on four essential pillars of the economy. Economists may call them sectors of the economy – agriculture, tourism, the blue economy, which involves the fishing industry, the yachting industry, and the revitalization and operation of the Otley Hall Marina and shipyard.
“Those are our three areas of focus on the blue economy. Then, of course, we have the new economy, which involves information technology, sports, the creative industries, and activities that appeal primarily to young people. It’s no wonder that a number of persons have adopted the youth economy because we want to have the young people of this country play an essential role in the future development of this country.
“For too long, they have been excluded from the national discussion as to what the future of this country should be, have been excluded from participating in the most basic thing; that is to say, the economy of this country.
“It is the plan of the New Democratic Party to turn this around, to use the vitality, the enthusiasm, the entrepreneurship of our young people to drive progress in our country. So, we welcome you to be a part of our campaign.
We have a team that is ready to go in every constituency. They will be there. We have spent a lot of time listening to constituents all across the country,” Friday said.
