By Basant El-Faramawy
Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell has won a second term after his National Democratic Congress party captured 14 of 15 seats in Thursday’s general election, securing more than 60% of the vote.
Decisive Victory Over Former Minister
Mitchell defeated Peter David, a former foreign affairs minister running with the Democratic People’s Movement, according to preliminary results from the Parliamentary Elections Office. More than 97,000 voters were registered across Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique for the 15 seats in the House of Representatives.
Regional Leaders Offer Congratulations
Leaders from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean nations congratulated Mitchell on the win. The prime minister has pledged to modernize the island’s economy, strengthen healthcare services and reduce youth unemployment.
Continued Push for Slavery Reparations
Mitchell and other Caribbean leaders have long demanded an apology and reparations for slavery from Britain. In September, Jamaica referred its reparations case to the United Kingdom’s highest court of appeal for the Caribbean, an unprecedented legal step that the British government has consistently rejected.
Historical Context
Grenada gained independence in 1974 after periods of French and British rule. The United States invaded the island in 1983 following the execution of Marxist Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and several cabinet members, an event commemorated annually as Thanksgiving Day on October 25.
