Regional election fever

RALPH GONSALVES, 78, is back.

Having already five times been elected St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, he will seek a sixth term in a general election due next year.

At his party’s annual convention in Kingstown on November 24, he was selected unopposed as leader, putting him in a position to extend his run as one of the world’s longest-serving rulers. He has been his country’s PM for almost a quarter of a century.

It is but the latest development ahead of a season of elections due to sweep the region in 2025.

Both a general election and a Tobago House of Assembly election are due in TT in the coming months.

But besides St Vincent, polls are due in Jamaica, Suriname and Guyana, too.

Dr Gonsalves’ re-election is not guaranteed. Though he has shown no sign of releasing his grip on the United Labour Party (ULP), the party did not win the popular vote in 2020.

The ULP leader – whose handle on social media is “Comrade Ralph” and who dons a jacket with the label “World Boss” – remains an outsized force in international politics, similar to, but more caustic than, Barbados’ PM Mia Mottley.

Earlier this year, Dr Gonsalves strongly advocated on behalf of countries facing the brunt of climate change in the wake of Hurricane Beryl.

He has also been a key figure in efforts involving Caricom and Brazil to defuse tensions between Venezuela and Guyana. St Vincent was at the centre of reports surrounding the US Department of Justice’s seizure of a jet tied to Nicolas Maduro.

The St Vincent PM has been in office so long, he is only his country’s fourth premier since independence, and may yet weather coming storms.

Less rosy is the situation faced by Jamaica’s Andrew Holness.

He is facing a resurgent opposition party, led by Mark Golding. Mr Golding – a lawyer, son of a medical professor and a former minister in the administration of Portia Simpson-Miller – has heaped pressure on Mr Holness, alleging a “vote-buying scheme” ahead of the next race. The ruling party lost much ground in local government elections earlier this year.

Things also look rough for Chandrikapersad “Chan” Santokhi in Suriname, whose coalition has faced criticism for inflation and crime, despite his party coming to power in 2020 with its best results since 1973 and after the tenure of Dési Bouterse (now a fugitive).

Opposition in-fighting, combined with Guyana’s continued oil-based boom, has placed Irfaan Ali in a position his regional colleagues might envy.

Dr Ali hosted Caricom as it welcomed India’s PM Narendra Modi in Georgetown this month. But some of the leaders around the table at those proceedings may not be in office much longer.

What’s clear is 2025 should be a banner year for voters.