New Democratic Party ousts longtime Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, who has served in workplace since 2001.
Published On 28 Nov 2025
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is about for a change in management for the primary time in additional than 20 years, with opposition chief Godwin Friday declaring victory in an election towards longtime Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.
Preliminary outcomes on Friday present the conservative-leaning New Democratic Party profitable 14 out of the 15 constituencies within the Caribbean island nation.
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That clears the best way for Friday, the opposition chief, to switch Gonsalves as prime minister.
Though official outcomes have but to be launched, the NDP’s doubtless victory is slated to finish the Unity Labour Party’s 24 years in energy.
The social gathering addressed its constituents in St Vincent and the Grenadines, generally recognized by the acronym SVG, in a social media submit after Thursday’s election.
“We love you, SVG, and we’ll maintain working and advocating for you,” the Unity Labour Party mentioned. “This is just not the tip, it’s the starting.”
Gonsalves has been the nation’s prime minister since 2001, making him one of many world’s longest-serving democratic leaders.
He was additionally one of many final remaining figures from the primary “Pink Tide” development that swept throughout Latin America within the late Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s. That interval noticed the election of left-wing leaders in various nations, from Brazil to Venezuela.
Composed of 32 islands and cays, solely 9 of that are inhabited, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines depends on industries corresponding to agriculture and tourism to help its inhabitants of 111,000.
The NDP campaigned within the island nation on a platform that targeted on rising wages, bettering safety and constructing nearer ties with China.
While Gonsalves has been an ally of left-wing governments in Cuba and Venezuela, his social gathering has additionally maintained a relationship with Taiwan.
That makes St Vincent and the Grenadines one of many few nations left in Latin America to proceed diplomatic relations with Taiwan, regardless of rising stress from China.
Only 12 nations worldwide, together with the Vatican, preserve such ties.
Gonsalves was additionally a supporter of cooperation between Caribbean nations, and Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness thanked him for his “ardour for regionalism and his unwavering perception within the worth of collective motion” in a social media submit.
Conservative leaders within the area have congratulated Friday on his success, hoping that it’s an indicator of attainable victories in their very own.
“Congratulations to my brother,” mentioned Allen Chastanet, a former prime minister and chief St Lucia’s conservative opposition.
Chastanet is operating for election towards present Prime Minister Philip Pierre, who’s supported by Gonsalves.
