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Elections in Barbados
Real estate news By Jamaica Gleaner
January 13, 2008
Barbados holds elections on Tuesday. A country that studiously avoids controversy or publicising them while living as an island to itself, now finds that there are more than a few controversies leading up to these elections, many of which seem typical of Caribbean island democracies, and finding it more difficult to keep these to itself under the greater exposure of globalisation.
The ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) of Owen Arthur seeks a fourth consecutive term over the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) led by David Thompson. Public opinion polls have been favouring the BLP but the party is up against the mood for change that faces a party ruling for three or four terms. But there are controversies too. One of the controversies of Barbados and Caribbean politics is about getting constitutions right. Few countries have reformed their independence constitution reform has been talked about for years in most.
Barbados wants to become a republic and the elections were originally expected to run concurrently with a referendum for a new constitution. In the end the referendum was postponed because the Government had not informed the Opposition of its intention to hold the referendum along with the elections and had not circulated copies of the new draft constitution.
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