Romeo’s People’s Democratic Movement romps home in Montserrat elections

BRADES, Montserrat, Friday September 12, 2014, CMC – The People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) has won a convincing victory in the general elections held here on Thursday, according to the preliminary results released on Friday.

The party, headed by businessman Donaldson Romeo, trounced the incumbent Movement for Change and Prosperity (MCAP) of outgoing premier Reuben T Meade, winning seven of the nine seats in the Legislative Assembly.

Romeo, who polled 1,695 votes, thanked the electorate for the”clear and convincing” victory, saying he was confident the promises outlined in the party’s manifesto would be met.

“I believe that once Montserratians are united, on island, off island, there is nothing in that manifesto that we cannot do. I expect us to do even more,” he said, adding that he would continue to “put people first.

“It is just a matter of leading a team and encouraging our nation to be of that mentality and I don’t think that is going to be difficult because they (population) have already spoken and responded to the agenda.

“Once we put people first, once we agree on everything that is important to making Montserrat a prosperous and self sustaining nation it will happen,” he added.
Meade who polled 1,140, conceded defeat, extending congratulations to the PDM for a “very clear election victory.

”Both parties have worked hard. I would like to thank all the persons who supported both PDM and MCAP and also the independents. It was an interesting election campaign and clearly one team had to win and PDM won and again my heartiest congratulations to the entire team,” he said.

Among those suffering defeat were former government ministers Colin Riley and Charles Kirnon. They received 866 and 1,070 votes respectively.

Preliminary figures released by the Montserrat Election Commission show the PDM winning 50.1 per cent of the votes to MCAP’s 35.3 per cent.

Each voter on Montserrat can vote for all candidates on the ballot paper in the island’s single-constituency system. There were 3,866 registered voters with 2,750 exercising their mandate, a turnout of 71 per cent.

The Electoral Commission said 31 candidates contested the nine seats, including the newly formed three-candidate group called the Alliance of Independent Candidates (AIC) led by former chief minister Dr Lowell Lewis. The group received just 4.1 per cent of the votes cast.

The 10 other candidates ran as stand-alone independents and collectively garnered 10.4 per cent of the votes cast.

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Romeo’s People’s Democratic Movement romps home in Montserrat elections

Dominica’s indigenous peoples to elect new Carib chief

ROSEAU, Dominica, Monday July 7, 2014, CMC – Dominica’s indigenous population goes to the polls Monday to elect a new Carib Chief.

The incumbent, Garnet Joseph says he is confident of defeating Charles Williams and Irvince Auguiste, two former Carib Chiefs and newcomer, Jumadine Frederick. The polling stations open at 7:00 am (local time) and closes 11 hours later.

“All of us have our own programme that we have presented to the residents of the Territory and I think that my chances of winning the election are very good”.

“I have a good track record of achievement and it did not start when I got into office, I have been working in the Territory for many years now, in fact, my entire life has been devoted to the development of the Territory so I think my chances on Monday are very good,” said Joseph.

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He said that the issue of access to credit by residents of the Territory will be given priority if he is given another opportunity to head the council.

“Access to credit has been a major problem plaguing the Territory for several years and I think that in our level of development at this time, this cannot be more appropriate”.

The Carib Territory or Carib Reserve is a 3,700-acre district that was established for the Caribs, also known here as the Kalinago.

The Carib Territory was officially formed by British colonial authorities in 1903, in a remote and mountainous area of Dominica’s Atlantic coast. Its population remained largely isolated from the rest of the island throughout most of the 20th century, with only a ceremonial chief and no other formal self-governance.

The Carib Reserve Act, enacted the year of Dominica’s independence in 1978, reaffirmed the Carib Territory’s boundaries, its land management, and institutions of local government. In the last decades of the 20th century, modern utilities and infrastructure were finally introduced to the Carib Territory, which also established contacts with foreign governments and other indigenous peoples in the region.

The present population of the Carib Territory is estimated at 3,000.

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Dominica’s indigenous peoples to elect new Carib chief