Amid a bitter power struggle and a High Court case hanging over the opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP), its political leader has declared the party is ready to take back the reins of government if an early general election were called.
Ralph Thorne made the declaration on Thursday during the opposition leader’s press conference at his new office on Hincks Street, The City.
“We will be ready. We are promising the people of Barbados that when the time comes, they will have an alternative choice against the BLP…that we are going to be a strong alternative choice for the people of this country. You can trust us, the three of us here on that,” he stressed, referring to Senator Ryan Walters and veteran party member Derek Alleyne who flanked him at the press conference.
“Nothing is going to stop us from being ready when the time comes,” insisted Thorne, against whom a no-confidence motion has been filed by suspended general secretary Steve Blackett.
The opposition leader sought to justify his optimism by announcing that candidates are already being interviewed to contest the next election.
“We have a public responsibility to the people of this country. There are people in St Lucy who are telling us, ‘send somebody’. We intend to send somebody. We are going to send somebody to St Lucy and St Joseph and to St John and to all five constituencies in Christ Church. All 30 constituencies will have candidates. I say that to the people of Barbados,” he said.
Noting that the 69-year-old DLP cannot let down its founder and national hero, the Right Excellent Errol Walton Barrow, Thorne said the party has a duty to serve the people of Barbados in the way it has done in the past.
“This party is too strong, this party is too proud, this party has too much of a sense of dignity to let down the people of Barbados in a future election. If it is called this year, we are going to be there. If it is called next year, Derek Alleyne will tell you, we are going to be there,” he insisted.
He also disclosed that the party has already started to write its manifesto. “Send the message to the Barbados Labour Party. You really think we sitting down here, waiting to see what next is going to happen internally? No, we can’t do that,” the DLP political leader emphasised.
Thorne went further to anchor his confidence in the claim of strong public support for the Dems, which suffered two 30-nil general election defeats in 2018 and 2022.
He reiterated that the people of Barbados had been upset with the party because it was not behaving as if it wanted to win the poll.
“We want to win it, not for ourselves, but we want to win it for Barbados. Over the years of democracy in Barbados, both parties have done some good. We want a chance to do some more good; and we are going to be there, we are going to be ready,” he declared.
Thorne was asked if the “old guard” of the party were being considered as candidates.
“We are not interested in old guard or new guard. We are taking fresh guard,” he stressed, adding that some branches which had been rendered dormant following the two demoralising election defeats will be reactivated.
His hopeful outlook for the party’s comeback is evident in his declaration that “there is a resurgence of interest in the Democratic Labour Party. I know what I am telling you”.
Last month, new Chief Justice Leslie Haynes ruled that Andre Worrell should continue to act as president of the DLP and Pedro Shepherd as its general secretary. The ruling emerged from a case in which veteran member Ricardo Williams filed a certificate of urgency to return Ronnie Yearwood and Steve Blackett to their posts as president and general secretary respectively. The chief justice ordered that the status quo remain until June 26 and told attorney Shamar Bovell, who is representing Williams, to file additional documents with the application within 14 days.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
