General elections were held in Barbados on 24 May 2018.[1] The result was a landslide victory for the opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP), which won all 30 seats in the House of Assembly,[2] resulting in BLP leader Mia Mottley becoming the country's first female Prime Minister. The BLP's victory was the first time a party had won every seat in the House of Assembly. Previously, the most one-sided result for a Barbadian election had been in 1999, when the BLP won 26 of the 28 seats. The BLP's 73.5 percent vote share was also the highest on record.
The ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) led by Freundel Stuart lost all 16 seats,[2] the worst defeat of a sitting government in Barbadian history. The DLP saw its vote share more than halve compared to the previous elections in 2013, with only one of its candidates receiving more than 40 percent of the vote. Stuart was defeated in his own constituency, receiving only 26.7 percent of the vote,[3] the second time a sitting Prime Minister had lost their own seat. It was also the first time since independence that the constituency of St John, a traditionally DLP stronghold, was won by the BLP.[4]
The election was fought primarily on the DLP's stewardship of the economy during its decade in power. The government had had to contend with numerous downgrades of its credit rating due to fallout from the 2008 financial crisis. The BLP criticised the DLP over rising taxes and a declining standard of living, and promised numerous infrastructure upgrades if elected.[3]
Electoral system
The 30 members of the House of Assembly were elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.[5]
Candidates
A record 134 candidates from nine political parties contested the elections. Four of the smaller parties chose to fight together under the 'Coalition of United Parties' banner.[6]
One week after the elections, Joseph Atherley, MP for St. Michael West, crossed the floor to become the House of Assembly's sole opposition member, citing concerns about democracy.[7] He was subsequently appointed Leader of the Opposition.[8] Originally sitting as an independent, he set up his own party, the People's Party for Democracy and Development.[9]
A by-election was held in the constituency of St George North on 11 November 2020 following the resignation of Gline Clarke, who had represented the constituency for 26 years, to accept the post of Barbadian High Commissioner to Canada. It was the first by-election to take place since the 2018 general election.[10] Toni Moore retained the seat for the BLP.
↑ George, Hudson (25 May 2020). "Grenada has an official opposition". Caribbean News Global. Retrieved 26 June 2021. In 2018, two CARICOM Member States, Grenada and Barbados held general elections with the same electoral results, whereby, one political party won all the seats contested. Grenada's prime minister Dr Keith Mitchell led the New National Party (NNP) retained power in a clean sweep over the New Democratic Congress Party (NDC) while the opposition party Barbados Labour Party (BLP) defeated the Freundel Stuart led Democratic Labour Party government (DLP) in the same clean sweep fashion. However, soon after the BLP was sworn into office, one of its elected members of parliament crossed the floor and become the opposition leader. Recently, in Grenada an elected member of parliament crossed the floor and become the opposition leader.
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