US lauds Barbados on successful elections

The United States of America congratulated Barbados for holding its first general elections last January 19, 2022 since becoming a republic last year.

In an official statement, the U.S. Embassy in Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean, and the OECS recognized the people of Barbados for “upholding the democratic heritage of the hemisphere.”

“The United States congratulates the people of Barbados on their peaceful elections. We will continue to work together to promote security, economic prosperity, and democratic rights for the citizens of Barbados and people throughout the Caribbean,” the U.S. Embassy said.

The office also expressed its enthusiasm in deepening its partnership with Prime Minister Mia Mottley and her administration.

Mottley on Thursday kept her position as Prime Minister after winning a landslide victory against Verla De Peiza, leader of the opposition Democratic Labour Party.

The Barbados Labour Party (BLP), which is led by Mottley, won all 30 seats in the national legislature in the recent elections. In 2018, the BLP also dominated the parliament with 29 seats.

“We stand today on the morning of the 20th of January confident that the people have spoken with one voice – decisively, unanimously and clearly,” Mottley told cheering supporters at the headquarters of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) as quoted in a recent article by Reuters.

In December 2021, Barbados has decided to declare its independence from Britain by removing Queen Elizabeth II as sovereign head of state.

In the same month, Mottley called the snap election, stating that it would help promote unity amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The opposition party criticised the move to hold the “election at a moment when some people were infected with coronavirus and could not leave their homes.”

The move was also raised to court, but the opposition was unsuccessful to stop the votes, “on the grounds that holding vote amid pandemic restrictions violated suffrage rights.”