ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Jan 17 2015, CNS – Antigua has been given its clearest indication yet that it could have its first female political leader later this year and prime minister at a later date.
All Saints East & St. Luke Member of Parliament Joanne Massiah has declared that she will be challenging to succeed Baldwin Spencer for the leadership of the United Progressive Party (UPP).
Prior to Massiah’s announcement, former finance minister Harold Lovell, the man widely recognised as the front runner for leadership, had been the only one on the ticket at the next convention, expected before June 30.
Spencer has announced that he won’t be leading the party into another election but for now, remains the leader.
Massiah, who will be the first woman to attempt to lead the party, is hoping to gain favour for a position she, until now, never publicly expressed interest in. Lovell, on the other hand, has not only repeatedly expressed interest but, at the 2001 convention, actually tried to unseat Spencer.
Massiah says her decision was at the “urgings of the party faithful, after much prayer, broad-based consultation and sober reflection as well as through a process of objective assessment of the legacy of the UPP and the overwhelming sense of duty to introduce the country to a different type of politics.”
