Barbados heads to polls early as Mia Mottley calls snap election for February 11 

Barbados: In a sudden parliamentary move, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has called for snap elections on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, exactly one year before its due date. The announcement triggered a nationwide campaign as political parties are preparing to contest all 30 seats in the upcoming elections in the House of Assembly.

The announcement was made at a Barbados Labour Party nomination meeting at Westbury Primary School, where attorney-at-law Michael Lashley KC was confirmed as the party’s candidate for the City. With his nomination, the ruling BLP has completed its slate of candidates for all 30 parliamentary seats.

According to the announcement, Parliament will be dissolved on January 19 and Nomination Day is scheduled for January 27, ahead of the February 11 poll. The early election comes well ahead of the constitutional deadline but is within the powers of the Prime Minister and President under Barbadian law.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley, speaking at a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) nomination event, confirmed that the ruling party has already finalised its slate of candidates and has completed nominations for all constituencies ahead of the official campaign period.

The election will determine the composition of Barbados’s House of Assembly with voters choosing representatives who will form the next government. As the island nation prepares for its democratic exercise, parties are expected to intensify campaigning in the coming weeks.

Elections were last held in Barbados in January 2022 which means that the polls are being held just over four years into the term. Mottley is seeking to lead her Barbados Labour Party to a third straight victory over the Democratic Labour Party. The BLP swept all 30 seats in the last two general elections in 2018 and 2022.

Following the announcement, Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne KC says the Democratic Labour Party is ready for the general election, with a full slate of 30 candidates in place. He made the statement on Saturday night, just hours after Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that Barbadians will go to the polls on February 11.