New Montserrat team

Montserrat has a new government after Tuesday’s general election.
The Movement for Change and Prosperity party, or MCAP, won six of the nine seats in the legislature.

The other three went to independents, including the outgoing Chief Minister Lowell Lewis.

The man expected to replace him, MCAP’s leader Reuben Meade, told islanders the new administration would hit the ground running.

It will be Meade’s second time in charge – he was previously Chief Minister from 1991-1996.

He was a member of Lewis’ coalition government which collapsed earlier this year.
Yesterday was declared a public holiday in the British territory.

Referendum campaign gets going

The Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, has urged opposition supporters to cast aside partisan politics and back a new constitution in November’s referendum.

He launched his “yes campaign” by saying the constitution was the best of its kind anywhere, as it strengthened democracy and human rights.

The NDP, or New Democratic Party, has urged Vincentians to vote “no”, accusing the Prime Minister of using the referendum to gauge the public mood ahead of a general election expected next year.

Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace has also objected to what he said he was the use of state funds, unless they were distributed to both sides of the debate.