The leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Dr. Godwin Friday, Thursday ended 25 years of being in the political wilderness after voters in St. Vincent and the Grenadines gave his party an overwhelming victory in the general election and in the process prevented the longest serving government leader of extending his hold on power.
Preliminary results show that the NDP won at least 11 of the 15 seats in the general election putting a halt to outgoing Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves’ desire of leading the Unity Labour Party (ULP) to a sixth consecutive victory.
Gonsalves was among the ULP candidates to have retained their seats, but among the casualties were his son and Finance Minister, Camillo Gonsalves, who lost to to the NDP’s Laverine Gibson-Velox.
‘I believe the voter is always right and the voice of the people is the voice of God and even inmy disappointment today, I hold fast to those beliefs as the foundation of our democracy,’ the outgoing Finance Minister said, congratulating Gibson-Velox on her victory
‘They said sometimes you win and sometimes you lose and I am definitely learning a lot tonight,’ he added.