The growing habit among voters in the Caribbean Community, to give big electoral mandates to incumbent governments, continued in the past week with voters in Antigua handing the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) a resounding victory in snap general elections that were called two years before they were constitutionally due.
The victory means that Prime Minister Gaston Browne will run the federation, with sister isle Barbuda, for a fourth consecutive term, as his party decimated the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP).
Browne had, for several months, been signaling his intentions of calling general elections. Yet still the UPP appeared to have been caught unprepared as internal leadership rows and questions over suitability of district candidates dimmed the party’s chances of unseating the ABLP.
Browne’s Labor Party, ABLP, went into the April 30 contest with 10 of the 17 seats and by the time the electoral commission had tallied up most of the votes, it became quite clear that the UPP had been decimated once again with labor increasing its tally to 15. The remaining single seat in mainland Antigua went to UPP leader Jamale Pringle, while Trevor Walker of the Barbuda People’s Movement retained his seat.
The victory means that the prime minister and the ABLP are about to commence a fourth consecutive term, having won previous elections in 2014, 2018, 2023 and now in 2026.
The federation’s elections were the second one in the 15-nation CARICOM bloc so far this year, following another snap election that resulted in the governing Barbados Labor Party winning all 30 parliamentary seats for the third consecutive time. These polls were held in early February.
Next up is the Bahamas, where the Progressive Labor Party of Prime Minister Phillip Davis is fighting to win a second consecutive term in the contest fixed for May 12.
The Antigua victory seems to be following a pattern across the grouping where voters appear to be tired of weak and poorly funded opposition parties that cannot offer themselves as alternative governments, so voters appear to either stick with incumbents or simply increase their mandates and allow the stronger ones to run the country.
Last December in St. Lucia, for example, the Labor Party won all but one of the 17 seats, while in neighboring St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a similar tale resulted from elections at the end of November last year when the New Democratic Party also carried away all but one of the 17 seats.
In Trinidad, the United National Congress picked up 26 of the 41 seats in the late April 2025 elections, while in Suriname a multiparty coalition is governing with 34 of the 51 seats, also from elections held last year.
“We are humbled and honored by your support and confidence. Now is the time to move forward together, build on our gains and continue our work on this long journey toward the betterment of our society and the upliftment of our people. From each and every one of us, thank you,” Browne told jubilant supporters. “We are here to serve all the people of Antigua and Barbuda. Education, jobs, business opportunities will be open to all who are prepared to seize them and I say to my distinguished countrymen and countrywomen when we create these opportunities for you, please seize them.”
Browne said his administration is determined to cater for the needs of all citizens as no one will be left behind who is willing to move forward. “And notwithstanding your political persuasion, this is not a time for laggards. This is a time for all of us to perform, to increase our productivity and to make sure that Antigua and Barbuda becomes one of the most productive small island states globally.”
As the year moves on, political watchers are turning attention to Dominica, another Eastern Caribbean nation where the electoral commission is cranking up to get its act together
Prime Minister Roosevelt Sketrit has been in power for the past 22 years and even though he has signaled plans to retire, his political opponents seem to be poorly funded and lacking a solid public presence
Grenada is the other regional member state whose electoral system is also cranking up though elections are not due until next year.
There were 12 general elections in the 15-nation bloc last year alone.