Barbados Prime Minister Mia Motley on Monday called a snap general election for January 19, just weeks after the Caribbean nation became a republic and seceded from the British crown.
Barbados, a former British colony that gained independence in 1966, elected Sandra Mason as its first female president in October to replace Queen Elizabeth as head of state. Mason was sworn in on November 30.
In a speech posted on her social media accounts, Motley said she wanted the elections to be held to unite the island nation of just under 300,000 around a common cause as it struggles to overcome the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Citizens and long-time residents, January 19, 2022 is the date when you will go to the polls and elect your next government and your next leader to lead this country during (the outbreak) Omicron, to lead this country through the difficult times that we are still going through, during (a pandemic). ) COVID-19 and a return to social and economic harmony and prosperity, to lead this country to be on a global level.”
In the past few years, calls for full sovereignty and local leadership have been mounting in Barbados, prompting it to end its long relationship with the British monarchy.
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