St John’s: Amidst the internal turmoil being faced by the United Progressive Party (UPP), Prime Minister Gaston Browne has taken a dig at the party leadership suggested calling an early elections in Antigua and Barbuda.
A number of senior leaders of the UPP have recently resigned from the party due to the ongoing internal turmoil.
The party had also lost the St. Peter constituency by-elections which has added to the internal chaos in UPP.
Questions are also being raised on the viability of the policies and strategies being adopted by the senior leadership of the UPP.
Capitalising on the situation, Prime Minister said that he will be inclined to call an early elections in Antigua and Barbuda, if things continue to go south for UPP.
The Prime Minister, who was interacting with the media persons during the swearing in ceremony of Minister Rawdon Turner, who had registered an impressive win in the just concluded by-elections of St. Peter seat, the Prime Minister said people have already reposed faith in the leadership of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) as more than 75% of the citizens had voted in favour of his Party candidate.
The by-elections for the St. Peter constituency had to be called in due to the recent demise of Asot Michael, a former member of the ABLP, who had contested the last elections as an independent from this constituency after developing some differences with the leadership of his party.
Interestingly, the next general elections in Antigua and Barbuda are scheduled for 2028. The statement given by the Prime Minister is being seen as a political move to further demorialise the UPP, which has just lost the St. Peter by-election.
The statement given by the prime minister has not been received well by the people who have called upon the sentiments of the government to focus on growth and development of the nation and the people rather than indulging in petty politics.
Many of the citizen also expressed dismay over the statement given by the Prime Minister and stated that instead of giving such statements the Prime Minister must focus on fulfilling the promises made in the election manifesto by ABLP.
One of citizens on a social media platform said that there was an urgent need to improve the infrastructure and create more economic opportunities for the people of the nation and the government must focus on this.
