2008 Grenadian general election

General elections were held in Grenada on 8 July 2008. Out of a total of fifteen seats, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) won eleven seats and the governing New National Party (NNP) won four, bringing the NDC to power for the first time since 1995.[1] The NNP was looking for a fourth consecutive term in power, which would have been a first in Grenadian history.[2]

2008 Grenadian general election

8 July 2008
All 15 seats in the House of Representatives of Grenada
Leader Tillman Thomas Keith Mitchell Party NDC NNP Last election 7 seats, 45.4% 8 seats, 47.8% Seats won 11 4 Seat change 4 4 Popular vote 29,007 27,189 Percentage 51.2% 48.0% Swing 5.8% 0.2%
Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results.
PM before election Keith Mitchell NNP Elected PM Tillman Thomas NDC

Campaign

In its election manifesto, which it debuted on June 25, 2008, the NNP promised the creation of 4,000 jobs, along with 4% growth in the economy.[3]

Opinion polls

A poll conducted by the Caribbean Development Research Services from June 6 to June 9 showed the NNP with 36.4% support, the NDC with 32.3% support, the Grenada United Labour Party (GULP) with 1.1% support, and the People's Labour Movement (PLM) with 0.8% support.[3] The two later formed an electoral alliance, the Labour Platform.

Results

In one notable outcome of the election, Deputy Prime Minister Gregory Bowen of the NNP was defeated in his constituency of St. George South East by Pastor Karl Hood of the NDC.[4] Mitchell was re-elected from the constituency of St. George North West.[5] Complete results are as follows:[6]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	National Democratic Congress	29,007	51.17	11	+4
	New National Party	27,189	47.96	4	–4
	Labour Platform (GULP–PLM)	478	0.84	0	0
	Independents	12	0.02	0	0
Total		56,686	100.00	15	0
Valid votes		56,686	99.61
Invalid/blank votes		222	0.39
Total votes		56,908	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		71,751	79.31
Source: Caribbean Elections

Elected members

Constituency	Member	Party
Carriacou and Petite Martinique	Elvin Nimrod	New National Party
Saint Andrew North East	Roland Bhola	New National Party
Saint Andrew North West	Alleyne Walker	National Democratic Congress
Saint Andrew South East	Patrick Simmons	National Democratic Congress
Saint Andrew South West	Sylvester Quarless	National Democratic Congress
Saint David	Denis Lett	National Democratic Congress
Saint George North East	Nazim Burke	National Democratic Congress
Saint George North West	Keith Mitchell	New National Party
Saint George South	Glynis Roberts	National Democratic Congress
Saint George South East	Karl Hood	National Democratic Congress
Town of St. George	Peter David	National Democratic Congress
Saint John	Michael Church	National Democratic Congress
Saint Mark	Clarice Modest-Curwen	New National Party
Saint Patrick East	Tillman Thomas	National Democratic Congress
Saint Patrick West	Joseph Gilbert	National Democratic Congress

Reactions

The Organization of American States (OAS) observed the elections, and it described "the electoral process in Grenada during the General Elections as extremely positive, with relatively few areas that could be improved."[7] All of the polling sites were observed, and voters were calm and well-behaved.

A political party in nearby Dominica, the People's Democratic Movement, attributed the victory to Mitchell's "arrogance, intolerance to criticism and lack of consultation with the people" during his time in office.[8]

Aftermath

NDC leader Tillman Thomas succeeded the NNP's Keith Mitchell as Prime Minister of Grenada on July 9.[1][4] He was sworn in at the Grenada Trade Centre in Grand Anse, St. George's by Governor-General Daniel Williams.[4] On this occasion, Thomas promised "openness and transparency" and said that he would practice "the politics of inclusion".[1] For his part, Mitchell said that the people voted for change and congratulated Thomas.[4] Thomas's cabinet, composed of 17 members, was sworn in at the National Stadium on July 13. In addition to being Prime Minister, Thomas took the portfolios of Legal Affairs, National Security, Information, and Public Administration. Two members of non-governmental organizations who were not affiliated with the NDC were included in the cabinet: Franca Bernadine as Minister of Education and Human Resources, and Jimmy Bristol as Attorney-General.[9]

References

1. "New Grenada prime minister vows to boost economy, lower cost of living". Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), July 9, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-08-04. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
2. "Grenada opposition wins general election". Jamaica Observer. 2008-07-10. Archived from the original on 2008-07-11. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
3. "Ruling Party Leads All in Grenada" Archived 2008-08-29 at the Wayback Machine, Angus Reid Global Monitor, June 29, 2008.
4. George Worme, "Thomas wins by a landslide in Grenada" Archived 2008-07-14 at the Wayback Machine, The Nation (Barbados), July 10, 2008.
5. "A decisive victory: Let there be no doubt" Archived 2008-08-03 at the Wayback Machine, GrenadaBroadcast.com.
6. "New prime minister of Grenada sworn in". Caribbean Net News. 2008-07-10. Archived from the original on 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
7. "OAS observers report few problems with Grenada election process". Caribbean Net News. 2008-07-10. Archived from the original on 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
8. "Talks of Grenada's election buzzing in Dominica". Dominica News Online. 2008-07-10. Archived from the original on 2008-08-03. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
9. Linda Straker, "Seventeen Member Cabinet Appointed in Grenada" Archived 2008-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, CaribWorldNews, July 14, 2008.