2015 Vincentian general election

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2015 Vincentian general election
Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.svg
  2010 9 December 2015 2020  

15 seats in the House of Assembly
8 seats needed for a majority
Turnout73.39% (Increase2.svg 11.06pp)
 First partySecond party
  Ralph Gonsalves 2013.jpg Arnhim Eustace (cropped).jpg
Leader Ralph Gonsalves Arnhim Eustace
Party Unity Labour New Democratic
Last election8 seats7 seats
Seats won87
Seat changeSteady2.svgSteady2.svg
Popular vote34,24631,027
Percentage52.28%47.37%
SwingIncrease2.svg 1.17ppDecrease2.svg 1.30pp

2015 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines general election - Results by constituency.svg
Results by constituency

Prime Minister before election

Ralph Gonsalves
Unity Labour

Elected Prime Minister

Ralph Gonsalves
Unity Labour

General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 9 December 2015. [1] The result was a victory for the Unity Labour Party, which retained its one seat majority. However, the NDP has challenged the results in two constituencies, North Windward, and Central Leeward.

Contents

Electoral system

The 15 elected members of the House of Assembly were elected in single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post system. [2]

Campaign

A total of 43 candidates contested the elections. [3] The two biggest parties were the incumbent Unity Labor Party of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves and the opposition New Democratic Party of Arnhim Eustace, both of which ran candidates in all the 15 constituencies. Smaller parties included the Green Party and the Democratic Republican Party, who only competed in seven and six constituencies respectively. [4]

As 11,902 registered voters were first-time voters, both major parties looked to woo young voters. Gonsalves emphasised the importance of the youth as "solutions to the problem of our civilisation" rather than "problems to be solved." Eustace announced initiatives aimed at decreasing unemployment, including "proposals for youth, sports, and culture." [4]

Marginal seats

Unity Labour Party New Democratic Party
Constituency2010 majorityConstituency2010 majority
1South Leeward2.47%1Central Leeward2.27%
2North Leeward2.99%2East St. George3.27%
3 Central Kingstown 4.87%3North Windward3.83%
4 East Kingstown 5.95%4West St. George5.46%
5West Kingstown6.77%5Marriaqua7.93%
6Southern Grenadines16.01%6South Central Windward8.75%
7Northern Grenadines36.82%7South Windward11.74%
8 North Central Windward 38.26%
Source: Caribbean Elections

Conduct

The OAS sent an observer team. [5] There were 227 polling stations, which opened between 07:00 and 17:00. [4]

Results

Saint-Vincent-et-les-Grenadines Assemblee 2010.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Unity Labour Party 34,24652.2880
New Democratic Party 31,02747.3770
Democratic Republican Party 1540.240New
Green Party 770.1200
Total65,504100.00150
Valid votes65,50499.69
Invalid/blank votes2020.31
Total votes65,706100.00
Registered voters/turnout89,52773.39
Source: Electoral Office

Elected MPs

ConstituencyElected memberParty
Central Kingstown St Clair Leacock New Democratic Party
Central Leeward Louis Straker Unity Labour Party
East Kingstown Arnhim Eustace New Democratic Party
East St. George Camillo Gonsalves Unity Labour Party
Marriaqua St. Clair Prince Unity Labour Party
North Central Windward Ralph Gonsalves Unity Labour Party
North Leeward Roland Mathews New Democratic Party
North Windward Montgomery Daniel Unity Labour Party
Northern Grenadines Godwin L. Friday New Democratic Party
South Central Windward Saboto Caesar Unity Labour Party
South Leeward Nigel Stephenson New Democratic Party
South Windward Frederick Stephenson Unity Labour Party
Southern Grenadines Terrance Ollivierre New Democratic Party
West Kingstown Daniel Cummings New Democratic Party
West St. George Cecil Mckie Unity Labour Party
Source: I-Witness News

Reactions

In reaction to the win Gonsalves said: "I am humbled and honoured that the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines embraced our bold vision for the future and rejected the politics of hate," [6] he also called for national unity to address developmental challenges. However he added that there were issues in the constituencies of North Leeward and South Leeward and "we are also calling for an immediate recount to ensure that all the votes are counted in those constituencies. There are more rejected ballots than the margin and those ballots should be examined closely to determine the intent of the voters." [6]

The NDP refused to concede the defeat according to inconsistencies in the Central Leeward constituency. A party statement read: "We of the New Democratic Party are confident that we have won the general elections based on figures received by our various polling agents. Our figures show that we won the Central Leeward seat by six votes, which means that we won the general elections by eight seats to seven." [7] Leader of the opposition Arnhim Eustace, who won his seat against ULP candidate Luke Brown by fewer than 50 votes, added that there were many irregularities took place in his constituency of East Kingstown, including "illegal voting, and contradictory voters list to agents." [6]

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References