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General elections were held in Grenada on 13 September 1962. [1] Herbert Blaize's Grenada National Party won six of the ten seats and Blaize was appointed Chief Minister for the second time. Blaize served as Head of Government until the next general election in August 1967, initially as Chief Minister until March 1967, and subsequently when Grenada became a fully internally autonomous Associated State, as Grenada's first Premier. Voter turnout was 72.6. [2]
Grenada's Administrator, the Queens representative on the island, James Lloyd suspended the constitution, dissolved the Legislative Council, and removed Eric Gairy as Chief Minister in April 1962, following allegations concerning the Gairy's financial impropriety. Gairy had been Chief Minister for 10 months since August 1961 and his party the Grenada United Labour Party held a majority in the Legislative Council following the 1961 elections. [3] [4] The negative publicity surrounding the removal of Gairy led to a significant fall in support for GULP.
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grenada National Party | 11,341 | 53.73 | 6 | +4 | |
| Grenada United Labour Party | 9,705 | 45.98 | 4 | –4 | |
| Independents | 61 | 0.29 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 21,107 | 100.00 | 10 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 21,107 | 91.53 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,953 | 8.47 | |||
| Total votes | 23,060 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 31,766 | 72.59 | |||
| Source: Nohlen | |||||
The history of islands of Grenada in the Caribbean, part of the Lesser Antilles group of islands, covers a period from the earliest human settlements to the establishment of the contemporary nationstate of Grenada.
The politics of Grenada takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, whereby the prime minister is the head of government. Grenada is an independent Commonwealth realm. It is governed under a multi-party parliamentary system whose political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom; it has a prime minister and a cabinet, and a bicameral Parliament with an elected House of Representatives and an appointed Senate. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, motion, and association. Grenada is a member of the eastern Caribbean court system. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on English common law.
Sir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante was a Jamaican politician and labour leader, who, in 1962, became the first prime minister of Jamaica.
Keith Claudius Mitchell is a Grenadian politician who served as Prime Minister of Grenada from 1995 to 2008 and from 2013 to 2022. He is the longest-serving Prime Minister in Grenadian history, holding the office for more than 22 years. He is currently leader of the New National Party (NNP) and has been the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives of Grenada from 2008 to 2013, and again since 2022.
The New National Party (NNP), also known as NNP Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, is a conservative political party in Grenada. It is led by former Prime Minister, Keith Mitchell.
Sir Eric Matthew Gairy PC was the first Prime Minister of Grenada, serving from his country's independence in 1974 until his overthrow in a coup by Maurice Bishop in 1979. Gairy also served as head of government in pre-independence Grenada as Chief Minister from 1961 to 1962, and as Premier from 1967 to 1974.
Herbert Augustus Blaize PC was a Grenadian politician and leader of the Grenada National Party. When Grenada was still a British Crown Colony he served as the first Chief Minister from 1960 to 1961, and again from 1962 to 1967. He became the first Premier of the autonomous Associated State of Grenada briefly in 1967. In the first elections following the 1983 coups and the American-led invasion of Grenada, he served as Prime Minister from 1984 until his death in 1989.
Ben Joseph Jones was a Grenadian politician. He was a lawyer before being elected to Parliament as a member of the New National Party in 1984. In 1984 he began serving as foreign minister in the government of his party's leader, Herbert Blaize. When Blaize died in December 1989, Jones became prime minister of Grenada. He served until March 1990, when his party lost elections. He also gave up his position as foreign minister at that time, but was reappointed later that year. Though his party was out of power, Jones continued serving as foreign minister until 1991.
Grenada is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, and several small islands which lie to the north of the main island and are a part of the Grenadines. It is located northwest of Trinidad and Tobago, northeast of Venezuela and southwest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Its size is 348.5 square kilometres (134.6 sq mi), and it had an estimated population of 112,523 in July 2020. Its capital is St. George's. Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to its production of nutmeg and mace crops.
The Grenada National Party (GNP) was a conservative and economically liberal political party in Grenada that existed from 1955 to 1984, when it merged into the New National Party. It alternated in power with the Grenada United Labour Party (GULP).
The Grenada United Labour Party (GULP) is a political party in Grenada.
General elections were held in Grenada on 10 October 1951. They were the first held with universal suffrage. Eric Gairy's Grenada Mental and Manual Workers Union won six of the eight seats. However, at this time the Legislative Council had few powers and the role of head of government remained with the Administrator.
General elections were held in Grenada on 20 September 1954. Although independent candidates received the most votes, Eric Gairy's Grenada United Labour Party won six of the eight seats, as it had done in the 1951 elections. At this time the Legislative Council had few powers. The role of head of government remained with the Administrator.
General elections were held in Grenada on 24 September 1957. Following the introduction of the new Constitution on 21 December 1959 real authority for governing the country was given to a Chief Minister and those from the majority party in the Legislative Council based on the 1957 elections. Herbert Blaize was appointed the first Chief Minister from 1 January 1960 when the Legislative Council provisions took effect, with the cooperation of the independents who chose to support the Grenada National Party.
General elections were held in Grenada on 27 March 1961. Eric Gairy's Grenada United Labour Party won eight of the ten seats, his wife Cynthia Gairy becoming the first woman to be elected to the legislature. George E.D. Clyne of GULP became Chief Minister and served from March to August 1961 when, following the direct intervention of the British government, Gairy's political ban was lifted early, and Clyne resigned allowing Gairy to return in a by-election and become Chief Minister. Voter turnout was 55.5%.
General elections were held in Grenada on 7 December 1976. The result was a victory for the Grenada United Labour Party of Eric Gairy, which won nine of the 15 seats, whilst the opposition People's Alliance (a coalition of the New Jewel Movement, the Grenada National Party and the United People's Party won the remainder. However, the elections were marred by fraud, as Gairy's secret police, known as the Mongoose Gang, had been threatening the opposition. Voter turnout was 65.2%.
The National Party (TNP) was a political party in Grenada.
The Mongoose Gang was a private army or militia which operated from 1967 to 1979 under the control of Sir Eric Gairy, the Premier and later Prime Minister of Grenada, and head of the Grenada United Labour Party. Officially, Mongoose Gang members were called Special Reserve Police (S.R.P.) or Volunteer Constables.
Sir John Augustus Fitzroy Watts KCMG CBE was a Grenadian dentist, politician and co-founder of the Grenada National Party.
