Grenada has just ended its 34th Independence anniversary celebrations with much pomp and pageantry. The military parade and the display of national colors were indeed spectacular. Even the pre Independence celebrations on the Carenage along with the fire-works helped to ignite some nationalism within us as a 34 year old adult.
Now that the dust is settling and Grenadians are going back to their ‘same self’, attention is being focused on Election as another big national charade in the waiting.
The date for Grenada’s General Election has not been revealed but there is a mood of expectancy within the population regarding the Elections.
This column is therefore seeking to define and analyze the journey to the next general election. That’s why this first article is captioned ‘From Independence to Election’.
The battle lines are all drawn and most, if not all, political organizations are fine tuning their campaign strategies so as to capture the hearts and minds of the Grenadian electorate.
The ruling New National Party (NNP) continues to use each opportunity it gets to make a case for re-election. Their public relations approach is very aggressive and sometimes overselling. At their last convention at the Grenada Trade Centre they have called on members to tighten all loose screws and to be in a mood of readiness. They have named all their representatives who will be candidates in the general election. Mr. Terry Forrester is back on the NNP executive as the Public Relations Officer (PRO). Mr. Forrester is known for his brass and bold approach in challenging any opponent. He believes in what he has to say.
On the ‘Other Side of the Coin’, the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) keeps singing the song – a wind of change is blowing. Their near victory at the last polls in 2003 may have put them in over-dive. They have listed candidates for the fifteen constituencies and continue to keep a watchful eye on the process. The NDC may have to redouble their efforts and depend on their foot ‘soldiers’ in the absence of much media related public relations, to convince the electorate that they should end the reign of the NNP.
Grenada’s politics is not limited to the NNP and the NDC. Although these are the only two parties with representatives in the Houses of Parliament, the Grenada United Labour Party (GULP) – Grenada’s oldest political organization, is lurking in the wings calling former supporters to return ‘home’ to the party. They have suffered major setbacks since the overthrow of the Eric Gairy led Government in 1979 by the New Jewel Movement (NJM) under the leadership of Cde. Maurice Bishop. Another setback was the death of their leader and founder Eric M Gairy. And still more setbacks with the unresolved internal dispute regarding the leadership of the party. There continues to exist the Reynold Benjamin and Gloria Payne-Banfield struggle for direction of the party.
Then there is the People’s Labour Movement (PLM) led by Dr. Francis Alexis. PLM too, had some internal challenges when its president Dr. Terrance Marryshow resigned following contentions between himself and political leader Dr. Alexis. This led to the resignations of most of their executive members, including deputy political leader Mr. Bernard Jones. If they have to be counted in this race, they will have to pick up the pieces very quickly and fit each piece in its place so as to meaningfully challenge the incumbent NNP.
This Platform will continue to monitor this election process and will feature the developments within each political organization as Grenadians prepare to exercise their democratic right as citizens of this sovereign country. The Platform encourages all readers to follow the journey from Independence to Election. Do you have any comments? Send them to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .