Dear Editor,

A close contest is expected in Barbados general elections slated for January 15 between the ruling Barbados Labour Party and opposition Democratic Labour Party. Some 68 candidates are vying for the 30 seats in the House of Assembly but it is a straight fight between the two dominant parties. Opinion polls give conflicting predictions. One poll says the DLP will win while another poll says the BLP will win the elections.

I was in Barbados last May and travelled around the island to get a sense which party has a better chance of winning the yet undated elections. I found that people still love Prime Minister Owen Arthur although his popularity has been on the wane. The Opposition leader, David Thompson, was not so liked. But people complained about the rising cost of living. They also felt that the BLP has been governing too long and that there is need for a change of government. No Prime Minister or party has governed Barbados for more than two consecutive terms at a time. Arthur became the first in 2003 when he was elected for a third time and is now seeking an unprecedented fourth term. So the DLP has the edge because of peoples’ desire for change.

The Guyanese (with legal right to live in and citizenship of Barbados) I spoke with have a relatively comfortable life. They did not seem to have much interest in the impending elections. Not many of them, entitled to vote, actually registered to cast ballots. But quite a few of them talked of the island needing change suggesting that they listened to the conversation of Bajans. I don’t know if the small number of Guyanese vote would make a difference in the outcome of the elections. But the election would be close in several seats and overall.

In the last election, Arthur’s party won 23 seats against 7 seats for DLP. The outcome would be a lot closer regardless of which party wins. Reports say both parties have been attracting huge crowds suggesting a competitive election.

I should note that Barbados electoral system is different from ours. Barbados has a constituency-based first-past-the-post system.

Yours faithfully,

Vishnu Bisram