The Antigua and Barbuda Government and the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) were trading allegations ahead of Monday’s Nomination Day for the crucial St Mary’s South constituency byelection.
Kelvin ‘Shugy’ Simon, who stepped down in a bid to thwart efforts by the ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) to challenge his victory at the general election, will again be the UPP’s candidate, while economist Dwayne George, a former UPP member, is the ABLP’s candidate.
There are expected to be several other candidates, but political observers say the contest will be a fight between the candidates of the two main parties Prime Minister Gaston Browne had led the ABLP to a nail-biting victory in the January 18 general elections, winning nine of the 17 seats for a third consecutive term in office.
In a statement, the Office of the Prime Minister said it had “discovered that operatives within the Opposition have become so desperate…that they have gone about creating a fake profile” of the prime minister and “using foul language and an unusual photo to vilify, slander and libel the Prime Minister”.
The statement said that the opposition has created the “fake profile in the hopes of persuading youthful electors, the people who are most likely to consume the on-line trashy material which the specific website offers, to reduce their faith in the very successful nine-year tenure of Prime Minister Browne.
“Those operatives are hoping to swing youthful voters away from the growing support won over by the ABLP candidate for St. Mary’s South, by diminishing the high standard that has characterized the Prime Minister’s appeal,” the statement said, adding that “the fake profile has been reported to the appropriate website and it is expected that it will shortly be taken down”.
But in a statement, the UPP said that it “views with contempt the latest effort of Prime Minister Gaston Browne to gain the support of the people of Antigua and Barbuda: by claiming to be the cyber victim of Opposition operatives”.
The party said that it has “no need to resort to such low tactics to disgrace the Prime Minister, when, singlehandedly, in his recent unhinged rants and unprecedented solipsism…he brought his position and the office into disrepute.
“The Prime Minister would be better advised to look within his own camp, where there is so much dissatisfaction among his comrades, for the real culprit behind this fake profile.
Otherwise, he has the resources of the police at his disposal to investigate this alleged offence,” the opposition party said.
It said it has “absolutely no need to descend into the gutter politics of PM Browne,” adding “rather, it is “satisfied with, and proud of, the campaign” run by the candidate and the party “and we are confident that the voters in the upcoming byelection-will make the right choice based on performance and character”.
