St. John’s— Launching a verbal attack on the opposition United Progressive Party’s (UPP) selection of candidates for the next general elections, Prime Minister Gaston Browne faulted the main leadership for fielding candidates like Harold Lovell and Alister Thomas, who lacked dynamism to inspire the voters.
The UPP had recently named candidates for 14 out of 16 constituencies for the next general election, which is constitutionally scheduled for 2028.
The prime minister said that the candidates picked by UPP were relics of yesterday and they had nothing new to offer to the voters of Antigua and Barbuda. He even called them “old and washed up” individuals.
The UPP had named Franz DeFreitas in St. John’s City South, Alister Thomas in St. John’s City West, and Ashworth Azille in St. John’s Rural East. New faces, such as Barbara Coates in All Saints West and Wayne Benjamin Marsh in St. Paul, were also announced by UPP.
The Prime Minister also took a dig at UPP, stating that the party was struggling with internal chaos, and under the circumstances that prevail within UPP, all efforts were aimed at protecting the incumbent leaders rather than promoting strong candidates to contest the next general elections.
He said the party had lost its political ground, and now even the people of Antigua and Barbuda were no longer supporting them. The Prime Minister said that UPP will be no match for the strong candidates that the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) will be putting up for the next general elections.
In response to the statement given by Prime Minister Gaston Browne, the UPP supporters have come out in defense of the candidate selection by the party leadership. The supporters claimed that there has been a blend of experienced and fresh faces who will be contesting the next general elections to defeat ABLP.
The party said that it was gearing up to present a more viable political option for the people of Antigua and Barbuda as the current administration under Prime Minister Browne had failed on all fronts including development and governance.
