Mañana habrá elecciones generales en Barbados: eligen integrantes de la Asamblea Parlamentaria y Primer Ministro
Claves: elecciones generales de Barbados del 24 de mayo
El Partido Laborista Democrático y el Partido Laborista de Barbados son las principales toldas políticas que se disputan los 30 escaños de la Cámara baja.
En Barbados se celebran elecciones generales este 24 de mayo, con un número récord de 135 nominados para conseguir los 30 escaños en la Cámara baja de la Asamblea Legislativa (Parlamento).
El primer ministro de Barbados, Freundel Stuart, del Partido Laborista Democrático (DLP, por sus siglas en inglés), tiene actualmente la mayoría con 16 curules obtenidos en los comicios de 2013.
El sistema político de Barbados: ¿Qué se elige?
Barbados se independizó en 1966 y adoptó una democracia parlamentaria, sin embargo sigue siendo miembro de la Mancomunidad del Reino Unido y tiene como jefa de Estado a la reina Isabel II, aunque esta no posee poderes ejecutivos.
La monarca nombra a un gobernador general de Barbados, que actualmente es Sandra Mason, para supervisar los asuntos de este país caribeño.
La isla tiene un sistema bicameral: Cámara Alta y Cámara baja de la Asamblea Legislativa.
El gobernador general designa a los 21 senadores de la Cámara Alta, mientras que los 30 miembros de la Cámara baja son electos en comicios cada cinco años, como los que se realizan este 24 de mayo.
El partido político que obtengan la mayoría de los 30 escaños escoge a su líder como primer ministro.
Barbados tiene 430 kilómetros cuadrados y unos 290.000 habitantes.
Los candidatos y partidos
El pasado 7 de mayo, un total de 135 candidatos fueron nominados para participar en las elecciones. Entre ellos 37 mujeres y 98 hombres.
Por primera vez dos mujeres lideran partidos políticos en busca de la mayoría de los curules: Mia Mottley y Lynette Eastmond.
– Stuart, el actual primer ministro, anunció que su Partido Laborista Democrático irá a la contienda con 30 candidatos en un intento por conseguir la mayoría. En las elecciones de 2013 logró 16 escaños.
– Mia Mottley, del opositor Partido Laborista de Barbados (BLP, por sus siglas en inglés), tiene 30 candidatos.
– Soluciones Barbados (SB), liderada por Grenville Phillips II, participará en las elecciones con 26 candidatos.
– El Partido Unidad Progresista (UPP), de la exministra de Gabinete del partido BLP, Lynette Eastmond, presentará 23.
– Tres candidatos del partido Congreso Democrático Popular (PDC), de Mark Adamson.
– Tres candidatos del Partido Libre de Bajan (BFP), de Alex Mitchell.
– Ocho candidatos del Movimiento de Integridad de Barbados (BIM), liderado por Neal Holder.
– Un candidato del Reino Gobierno de Barbados (KGB), dirigido por Steve Hunte.
– Diez candidatos independientes.
Salarios y pensiones objetivos de campaña electoral en Barbados
El principal partido opositor en Barbados, el Partido Laborista, se comprometió a reformar pensiones y salariales de los funcionarios públicos en un acto de presentación de candidatos, destacó hoy la prensa local.
Mia Mottley, líder política de dicho partido y de la oposición, habló a la audiencia masiva y dio una idea de algunas de sus intenciones de ganar los comicios del 24 de mayo.
Admitió que el Gobierno restauró los recortes salariales en 10 por ciento pero aseguró que hay dinero para iniciativas mejores, y destacó cómo ciertas personas de la tercera edad subsisten con una pensión escasa, situación que ‘no debe continuar’.
Mottley se enfrentará en las urnas a Freundel Stuart, quien encabezará por segunda vez consecutiva la candidatura del Partido Laborista Demócrata, formación que lidera desde la muerte en 2010 del entonces primer ministro, David Thompson.
El 26 de abril los habitantes de esta isla caribeña fueron convocados a elecciones generales para el próximo día 24.
Barbados General Election Results – 24 May 2018
General elections go to the polls on 28 May 2018. Elections will be held for all 30 seats in the House of Assembly using a first-past-the-post system.
Electoral System
The 30 members of the House of Assembly are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting. There was no fixed election date in effect in Barbados at this time; hence, the choice of election date is the prerogative of the Prime Minister.
Background
The Barbados parliament automatically dissolved pursuant to the constitution on Monday, 5 March 2018 without Prime Minister Freundel Stuart announcing a date for general elections.
On 26 April 2018, Prime Minister Stuart announced that elections would be held on Thursday, 24 May 2018 in a brief statement released by the Barbados Government Information Service. Nomination Day was set for Monday, 7 May 2018,
Political Parties & Candidates
The 2018 election has attracted a record number of parties and candidates. A total of 135 candidates were nominated to contest the election on 7 May 2018 – Nomination Day. The ruling Freundel Stuart led Democratic Labour Party (DLP), and the opposition Mia Mottley led Barbados Labour Party (BLP) have both announced their full slates of 30 candidates each. The new Solutions Barbados (SB), led by Grenville Phillips II, has announced a slate of 26 candidates, whereas the United Progressive Party (UPP), led by former BLP Cabinet Minister Lynette Eastmond is presenting a slate of 23 candidates.
The People’s Democratic Congress (PDC), led by Mark Adamson has announced three candidates. Its partner in the Coalition of United Parties (CUP), the Bajan Free Party (BFP), led by Alex Mitchell is presenting three candidates; and the Kingdom Government of Barbados (KGB), led by Steve Hunte, is presenting one candidate. The Barbados Integrity Movement (BIM) will be contesting an election for the first time and being led by Neil Holder with a total of eight candidates. There will also be 10 independent candidates.
There are 37 women and 98 men contesting the 2018 election. For the first time, two political parties, the BLP and UPP are being led in an election by women.
Barbados Prime Minister Wants Out of CCJ
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has served notice that if his Democratic Labour Party (DLP) wins a third term in office in general elections later this week, the government will be saying goodbye to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in its appellate jurisdiction.
But he is denying that he has taken that position because of the Trinidad-based court’s rulings against the Barbados government, including the most recent which has forced the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to allow Commonwealth citizens who qualify, to be registered to vote in Thursday’s polls.
While most Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries have signed on to the original jurisdiction of the CCJ, only Barbados, Dominica, Guyana and Belize have adopted it as their final court of appeal.
Speaking at a DLP meeting over the weekend, Stuart said Barbados was being disrespected by the court, and he would no longer allow the country to be take that disrespect which is being meted out by “politicians wearing robes”.
“Once the Democratic Labour Party is returned to office, I am determined to put Barbados on the same level as every other CARICOM country by delinking from the Caribbean Court of Justice in its appellate jurisdiction,” he said to applause.
“We went in first and we can come out first…I want to make it very clear I am not here tonight commenting on the decisions. I’m the officer of the court myself as a lawyer. I respect a decision that courts make and when I have disagreed with them, I have appealed them…but I am not going to have Barbados disrespected by any politicians wearing robes. It is not going to happen.
“I don’t subscribe to disrespect and I think that the attitude coming from Port of Spain leaves much to be desired in terms of how it is treating Barbados. And I am not going to have a situation where other countries in the Caribbean keep a safe, safe distance from that court, while Barbados supports it and Barbadians are treated with the kind of disrespect that I see,” Stuart added.
Barbados joined the CCJ in 2004. The Prime Minister did say, however, that Barbados would not be going back to the Privy Council.
Leader of the opposition Barbados Labour Party, Mia Mottley, responding to what she said were embarrassing comments by Stuart, insisted that he was only upset by the CCJ’s most recent ruling giving Commonwealth citizens living in Barbados for three or more years, the right to vote.
Mottley accused Stuart of wanting to pull out simply because he did not like the court’s judgment.
“I am [ashamed] of my Prime Minister, because nobody would ever expect that kind of comment. And who has he consulted with? Has he consulted with the Bar? And don’t tell me it’s not about the Commonwealth citizens because why the Prime Minister didn’t tell you about it four weeks ago, why he didn’t tell you about it three weeks ago?
“You don’t like the fact that the Solicitor General and all the government advisers [told] you [that] you have no case, you cannot stop these people from voting. The law is as clear as ABC!” Mottley said on Sunday night.
Meantime, a former president of the Bar Association, Queen’s Counsel Andrew Pilgrim, said pulling out from the CCJ would be a “retrograde step” and would mean that justice for the average Barbadians would rest solely in the hands of judges appointed by the Prime Minister.
He said this could have serious implications for transparency of recourse for the average citizen against the Government.
“When one looks at the high quality decisions and the access to justice that has resulted from the CCJ, I would regard the comments as unfortunate and a retrograde step. I can’t imagine that the Prime Minister soberly thought that this was something that would be appropriate to do. I think this is something that just happens during political meetings so that they can get people to clap and jump up,” Pilgrim said.
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