1999 Grenadian general election

General elections were held in Grenada on 18 January 1999.[1] The governing New National Party of Prime Minister Keith Mitchell was re-elected after winning all 15 seats. Voter turnout was 56.5%.[2]

Background

The last election in 1995 saw the then governing National Democratic Congress defeated by the New National Party, which won 8 of the 15 seats.[3] However the New National Party lost their majority in late 1998 after the Foreign Minister Raphael Fletcher was one of 2 ministers to quit the party accusing the government of corruption.[4][5] As a result, Parliament was dissolved 18 months before the end of its term on 2 December 1998,[5] and on 14 December the election date of 18 January was announced.[6]

48 candidates stood in the election, including 2 independents, for the 15 seats which were elected by first-past-the-post.[6] Candidates included a full 15 candidates from the New National Party, 12 from the National Democratic Congress and 9 from the Grenada United Labour Party.[6]

Campaign

The governing New National Party of Kevin Mitchell campaigned on pledges to preserve stability and bring about economic growth.[7] Mitchell said that his government would create jobs by increased spending on infrastructure and by attracting foreign investment.[6]

Meanwhile, the opposition, comprising a loose alliance between the National Democratic Congress and the Grenada United Labour Party, attacked the government for corruption.[7] They alleged that there had been issues with the awarding of contracts and that the Prime Minister had been involved with foreign investors with shady backgrounds.[7] The opposition also said the government was not doing enough for health care,[6] and they in particular attacked a decision to build a stadium instead of a hospital.[7] However the opposition suffered divisions, with disagreement between the two opposition parties over who should become Prime Minister if they won the election.[7]

Results

The results saw the governing New National Party re-elected after winning all 15 seats contested.[8] Among the victorious candidates for the governing party was the Prime Minister Keith Mitchell, who won his own seat of St George's Northwest with 89% of the vote.[5] This was only the second time a government had been re-elected in Grenada and the first since 1974.[6][9]

The government's record in attracting investment and increasing economic growth was seen as having gained support for the New National Party, while the opposition said that the six-week campaign had been too short for them to prepare for the election.[5] Election monitors from the Organisation of American States observed the election and said that it had been "free and fair".[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	New National Party	25,896	62.47	15	+7
	National Democratic Congress	10,396	25.08	0	–5
	GULP–United Labour	4,853	11.71	0	–2
	Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement	260	0.63	0	0
	Good Old Democratic Party	12	0.03	0	0
	Independents	38	0.09	0	0
Total		41,455	100.00	15	0
Valid votes		41,455	99.51
Invalid/blank votes		203	0.49
Total votes		41,658	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		73,673	56.54
Source: Nohlen

References

1. Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p307 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
2. Nohlen, p311
3. "Grenada: parliamentary elections House of Representatives, 1995". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
4. Wren, Christopher S. (4 December 1998). "World Briefing". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
5. "Grenada PM wins second term". BBC News Online. 19 January 1999. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
6. "Grenada: parliamentary elections House of Representative, 1999". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
7. "Voters cast ballots in Grenada election". Sun Journal. 19 January 1999. p. 2.
8. "Grenada's government win landslide victory". BBC News Online. 19 January 1999. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
9. "Grenada PM takes oath". Daily News. 24 January 1999. Retrieved 3 June 2010.

External links

• Constituency results from Adam Carr's Election Archive