PM Browne elected leader of ruling party

Prime Minister Gaston Browne has been re-elected leader of the ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) promising to build upon the socio-economic policies over the past years as it gears up for the April 30 general election.

Browne addressing a convention of the party held on Sunday which he was re-elected, said “this convention is not just an ordinary convention; this is a defining moment for the country and a defining moment for the executive members and delegates attending the convention to re-commit to the values of the organization”.

He said that the convention is also being used by the ABLP to finalise plans for the general elections.

Browne, who is seeking his fourth consecutive term as head of government,  said the election, which he called nearly two years ahead of the constitutional deadline, is one where ABLP’s  experiences in steering Antigua and Barbuda through troubled times to emerge as a progressive state in the Caribbean.

He praised the efforts of the former executives of the party, including Sir V.C Bird, considered the “Father of the Nation” saying they laid a solid foundation and a deep commitment to advance the well-being of the ordinary men and women in Antigua and Barbuda.

“It’s not about status or individualism; the ABLP has always been about people. It’s a movement of the masses created to protect and to promote the interest of the working class people and all the people of our nation in general.

“An institution led by competent, committed and courageous leaders. There’s no doubt that Sir Vere and Sir Lester were courageous leaders and all who have led this institution and have served in the various ministries of government have been and continue to be courageous leaders,” Browne told the convention, adding that same courage calls on the current leaders to be courageous to left ordinary people out of poverty to extraordinary possibility.

“Today, that same courage calls on us to continue to fight for the working class people; to fight to protect the renaissance that we have created,” Browne added.

Foreign Affairs Minister, E.P Chet Greene, the party’s chairman, also made a strong for the party to be re-elected to office at the end of the  month.

Greene told the convention that the state of unrest in the international sphere calls for steady and experienced leadership at the levels of power in the country.

“We stand here with clear eyes. Because the world is changing. And it is not changing for the better. It is becoming more uncertain. More unstable. More dangerous. Wars are driving up prices. Supply chains are under strain. Tourism is exposed. Small states are vulnerable,” he added.

Greene said that under these circumstances, the electorate of Antigua and Barbuda must be intentional in their voting,

“It cannot be handed over to inexperience. It cannot be risked on those who have already shown us what their failure looks like. We have seen that path. We have lived that path. And we will not return to it! Instead, we choose prog ress. We choose stability. We choose advancement, we choose the renaissance!” Greene told supporters.

He said the party will release its 2026 election manifesto on Friday providing further details of its plans and objectives for the next five years.

In the last general election, held on January 18, 2023, the ABLP won nine of the 17 seats with the remainder going to the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) and a lone independent candidate. (CMC)

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