UWP sweeps St. Lucia General elections

In St. Lucia, the opposition United Workers Party (UWP) has won Monday’s general election, ousting Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony and the St. Lucia Labour Party (SLP) from a second consecutive term.

Preliminary results show that the UWP won 11 of the 17 seats at stake, reversing the results of the 2011 general election, when the SLP won by the same margin.

Anthony, who conceded defeat, said he would not be opposition leader or leader of the SLP. In a statement, he congratulated the UWP, noting “on all accounts this was a convincing victory.

“It is clear there was a major national swing against the SLP. I wish the people of St. Luca the very best as we embark upon this new journey.”

Anthony pledged his support to his colleagues and thanked the country for the opportunity to serve as prime minister on three occasions. He also pledged he would remain the parliamentary representative for Vieux Fort South.

Leader of the UWP, economist Allan Chastanet, said his new administration’s immediate priority with be holding talks with banana producers from the French Caribbean territories of Martinique and Guadeloupe as well as finalizing discussions on the construction of two new hotels.

He said the government would also set up a tribunal to look at the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) report on the alleged extra judicial killings by police during 2010-11.

“It has certainly been a stain on St. Lucia’s name internationally and we need to be able to deal with this as quickly as possible,” said Chastanet, a former tourism minister, who easily won the Micoud South seat after he was trounced in the Soufriere constituency in 2011.