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KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, Dec 09 2015 – Polling stations across St. Vincent and the Grenadines opened for a 10-hour period on Wednesday as voters began casting their ballots for a new government in this Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Country.
Early morning heavy showers have given way to bright sunshine as the 227 polling stations across the country opened at 7:00 (local time).
There are 43 candidates vying for the 15 seats in the Parliament with both the incumbent Unity Labour Party (ULP) and the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) having candidates in all the constituencies.
The two other parties – the three -year-old Democratic Republican Party (DRP) led by former senator Anesia Baptiste, which is contesting six seats and the SVG Green Party which is fielding seven candidates – are not expected to make any significant impact in the general election in which Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive term in office.
Both Gonsalves and the NDP leader, Arnhim Eustace are predicting comfortable margins of victory in the election that is being observed by teams from the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the 15-member CARICOM grouping.
The Electoral Department said that 89,527 people who are registered to vote in the election.
