Barbados all set to go into polls on Wednesday

Barbados is all set to go into the polls on Wednesday, January 17 2022. According to the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC), 266,330 persons are eligible to vote in Wednesday's general election called by Prime Minister Mia Mottley 18 months ahead of the constitutional timetable.

Leslie Haynes, chairman of the EBC, announced at a news conference that the electoral register has been printed and sent to all political parties and independent candidates.

Simultaneously, Haynes stated that election officers are gathering the rest of their equipment and supplies.

"I can assure you that the EBC is prepared for general elections scheduled for January 19, 2022," Haynes stated.

There was a 60% voter turnout in the previous general election when 255,833 individuals were eligible to vote. The January 19 election will feature a total of 108 candidates representing seven political parties and nine independents.

According to political analysts, the election will be a direct contest between the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) (DLP).

Mottley made history in the 2018 general elections, when she led the BLP to a clean sweep of all 30 seats in Parliament, toppling Freundel Stuart's DLP administration.

Barbados has become the latest Caribbean country to announce a general election in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, joining St Kitts-Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, The Bahamas, St Lucia, The Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

Haynes assured reporters that the EBC would adhere "to the letter" to the COVID-19 protocols. On Wednesday, at least 3,700 electoral officials will be on duty.

Apart from that, on Wednesday, January 19 and Friday, January 21, Errol Barrow Day, all COVID-19 vaccine-related units will be closed. Additionally, on Thursday, January 20, the Immunisation Unit will administer immunizations to shut-ins only.