The Democratic Labour Party (DLP) is set to kickstart the selection of its candidates for the next general election, says President Dr Ronnie Yearwood, and he’s appealing to Barbadians to give the party a chance.
Declaring that the DLP which was whitewashed in two straight elections, in 2018 and 2022, is now a “normal functioning machine”, he said the party was needed to restore democracy.
“The reality is our democracy is not functioning and it has not been functioning properly since 2018,” he charged during a press conference on Thursday.
“People have expectations of the Democratic Labour Party, which I understand, and we have expectations of ourselves. If the people of the country want democracy to function in the way that they are used to, they have to come to the realisation they have to give the Democratic Labour Party a chance again.”
Yearwood signalled that the party was ready and delivered a brief report card on its performance over the last 12 months that included major upgrades to its George Street headquarters, a functioning office and bringing its bill payments back on track.
But a major achievement for the political leader was the restoration of four of the party’s seven branches, with work to go on another three.
“That is a tremendous effort in less than 12 months, really, to get those branches up and functioning, and we will do the rest in the New Year so that the party is fully equipped and ready as we get ourselves ready for the election,” he said.
The DLP will turn its attention next to selecting men and women to represent the 68-year-old party for the next elections, constitutionally due in 2027.
“The candidate selection process will start in earnest from next week. The committee will be meeting and we will be triggering that process to select new candidates for the upcoming general election,” the party president said.
Yearwood declined to say how many people were seeking candidacy, saying he could not reveal any names until people were ready to come forward.
“There is a candidate selection committee; that committee will meet, they will take input from the branches, and once that’s done, the person then comes before councils. All the arms of the party are involved in this process,” he said.
“Persons will be required to submit their CVs. They will be required to submit plans for the constituency. They will be required to submit a police certificate of character; that’s basic for any job. Why should you want to be an MP and not go through the same process? This is supposed to be one of the highest jobs in the land. You have to go through the rigour of that process to be a Democratic Labour Party candidate.”
Yearwood, who was re-elected to the party’s top post in internal elections back in August, is offering to deliver a new politics.
“I actually want to start a new ethos and a new thinking in politics in Barbados. The only way that this democracy will work, the only way that this DLP will work, the only way that Barbados will work, is if we all work together,” he declared.
Yearwood urged the DLP faithful to be committed to strengthening the party.
“Our supporters and our members have to engage and give their all to the party because it is not only about the survival of the party, it is about how our democracy continues to function in the normal way that it should function and we know that is not happening,” he said, citing a slew of failures by the Barbados Labour Party administration.
“It is about reclaiming your country and reclaiming your voice because the days of watching the government are over. It is time to have some action. It is time, not only for our membership, . . . for the country to engage itself.” (SD)
