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]
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 15 seats in the House of Representatives 8 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turnout | 56.54% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Winning party by constituency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editThe 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
editThe governing New National Party of Prime Minister Keith 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
editThe 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 since independence a government had been re-elected in Grenada, and the first since 1976.[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
edit- ^ Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p. 307 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
- ^ Nohlen, p. 311
- ^ "Grenada: parliamentary elections House of Representatives, 1995". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
- ^ Wren, Christopher S. (4 December 1998). "World Briefing". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Grenada PM wins second term". BBC News. 19 January 1999. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Grenada: parliamentary elections House of Representative, 1999". Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Voters cast ballots in Grenada election". Sun Journal. 19 January 1999. p. 2.
- ^ "Grenada's government win landslide victory". BBC News. 19 January 1999. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ "Grenada PM takes oath". Daily News. 24 January 1999. Retrieved 3 June 2010.[permanent dead link]
External links
edit- Constituency results Psephos