The voting process was observed by the Organisation of American States (OAS) Election Observers, led by former Prime Minister of Jamaica, O. Bruce Golding, right, seen here with Prime Minister Gaston A. Browne. Photo: Antigua & Barbuda News

The people of Antigua and Barbuda go to the polls today, January 18, 2023, to elect a new government. Photo: Antigua Breaking News

Browne's party won 9 of the 17 seats in the parliament at the time of this publication. The main opposition United Progressive Party won 6 seats at the time of publication.

The Barbuda People’s movement won 1 seat.

Independent candidate Asot Michael won the hotly contested St. Peter seat.

The St. George seat was won by Algernon Watts.

See previous article published January 18, 2023

Antiguans go to the polls today, Jan 18, 2023

The people of Antigua and Barbuda go to the polls today, January 18, 2023, to elect a new government.

According to reports, there are 53 candidates in the election.

The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Gaston A. Browne, has fielded 17 candidates while the United Progressive Party and Democratic National Alliance have each nominated 16 candidates.

The Barbuda People's Movement’s lone representative, Trevor Walker and three independent candidates are the remaining persons on the ballot.

Over 60,000 eligible to vote

Meanwhile, the Antigua and Barbuda Elections Commission (ABEC) confirmed that 60,916 people are eligible to vote in today’s general election.

Public Relations Office of ABEC Elisa Graham confirmed the figure in an interview with Loop Caribbean News.

Graham said ABEC has increased the number of polling stations to 188 across the 17 constituencies to serve the electorate and make the process easy.

“We anticipate that quite a number of persons will utilise those polling stations because they are going to be spaced out. We will have two voting areas within each respective booth. [And] we do not anticipate any long lines,” she said.

Virgin Islands News Online will be among the first to bring results of today’s election.

OAS Observers

The voting process will be observed by the Organisation of American States (OAS) Election Observers, led by former Prime Minister of Jamaica, O. Bruce Golding, and comprises 11 experts and observers from seven different countries.

During its work, the Mission will observe areas such as electoral organisation and registries, electoral technology, electoral justice, political finance, and the political participation of women,” said the OAS in a statement.