Barbados calls snap election after becoming republic

Bridgetown, Dec 28: Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley on Monday called a snap general election for January 19.

The move came just weeks after the country removed Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and became the world's youngest republic.

In October, Barbados elected Sandra Mason as the country's first-ever president. Mason was sworn in as president on November 30.

What did Mottley say in her address?

In a political address broadcast on social media, Mottley listed her government's economic and financial achievements. She added that Barbados' economy was recovering despite that the damage the COVID-19 pandemic did to the country's crucial tourism sector.

In response to criticism of her government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mottley said that the country had entered a "silly season" and that it was time to put aside partisan squabbling.

Mottley is the leader of the Barbados Labor Party and the country's first female prime minister, having won the May 2018 election for a five-year term.

The next elections would normally not have been due until 2023.

Labor Party holds majority

The Barbados Labour Party won all 30 seats of the lower house of the Barbadian parliament in the 2018 election and currently retains 29 of those seats.

Mottley emphasized this overwhelming majority in parliament and pointed out that her five-year term was far from over.

"Were I motivated solely by the need to survive we could bask, my friends, in the glory of a 29-1 parliament and ride COVID out for the next 18 months," Mottley said.

Source: DW