KINGSTOWN, SVG (BreadFruit News) – The Unity Labour Party (ULP) has shown early signs that it believes its red wall particularly on the Windward side of the country will stand allowing the party to launch an offensive in the three most marginally held NDP constituencies.
The 2015 general elections mirrored the results of 2010 with the ULP maintaining its stranglehold in several constituencies by comfortable margins, notably:-
North Central Windward: 2269 votes
South Windward: 759 votes
Marriaqua: 756 votes
East St. George: 607 votes
South Central Windward: 588 votes
West St. George: 578 votes
North Windward: 323 votes
The party’s victory in Central Leeward of 313 votes has remained stable over the last two electoral cycles which the party believes that newcomer Dr Orando Brewster will be able to increase upon “as he is able to more convincingly draw out the youth vote” said a source speaking to us on condition of anonymity.
Speaking this week at his party’s 2nd Virtual Public Meeting, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves told listeners:
“There is not one seat that we have, the eight (8), that we could lose. I could tell you that. And I have seen the progress in North Leeward, in South Leeward, in East Kingstown and I have been in those three constituencies. And I tell you, once we move like that, Central and West Kingstown in play.”
According to the source close to the party, “our internal polling show stability in the seats we have so we will be going after the NDP seats harder than we did in 2010”.
So far in the campaign, by words and actions, the party has been spending significant amount of resources and time in those three constituencies to increase their parliamentary majority. It is also not co-incidental that the party’s virtual campaign headquarters have been set up in Campden Park, South Leeward.
In the Campden Park boxes, the ULP only managed to capture 359 votes compared to 836 votes for the NDP.
In the 2015 general elections, the New Democratic Party won those seats marginally:-
East Kingstown: 149 votes
South Leeward: 118 votes
North Leeward: 12 votes
Prime Minister Gonsalves has visited all three constituencies recently with the candidates to get a feel of the mood of the ground.
Political observers say that it is a sign that the ULP has so far spent more time in seats held by the NDP rather than take a defensive position in their own territory.
Prime Minister Gonsalves further noted, “We have the candidates, we have the vision, we have the organisation, we have the leadership and we have the tradition of winning. And for all those who want to throw stones at me, my back broad, I am an ancient warrior”.
