Grenada’s center-left opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) party won the general elections held in the Caribbean country on Thursday, June 23. According to the results issued by the Parliamentary Elections Office (PEO), the NDC won 9 of the 15 seats in the House of Representatives. The center-right New National Party (NNP) led by outgoing Prime Minister Keith Mitchell won the remaining 6 seats. With the resounding victory of the NDC, 44-year-old lawyer Dickon Mitchell was elected as the new Prime Minister of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
Following its electoral victory, the NDC thanked the citizens for their support through a message posted on its Facebook account. “This victory is not ours, but yours…Together, we are moving Grenada FORWARD!,” wrote the NDC.
On the morning of June 24, Dickon Mitchell, who assumed the leadership of the NDC eight months ago, was sworn in by Governor-General Cécile La Grenade as prime minister for the period 2022-2027. In his inauguration speech, Mitchell expressed his gratitude to the people for their overwhelming support and vowed to strengthen democracy and work together with the opposition for the benefit of the nation.
Former PM Keith Mitchell, 75, who sought a sixth term and a third consecutive electoral victory, congratulated the new PM Dickon Mitchell and promised to play a constructive role as opposition leader.
In the 2013 and 2018 general elections, Keith Mitchell’s NNP swept the polls, winning all 15 seats in the lower house of the parliament. The elections were due by June next year. However, in May, Keith Mitchell called for snap elections. On May 16, he requested the Governor General to dissolve the parliament and set June 23 as the date for general elections.
The new PM, Dickon Mitchell, has pledged to improve health care, decrease unemployment and poverty, build affordable housing and boost education.
Grenada joined the Bolivarian Alliance of the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) in December 2014 under Former PM Keith Mitchell’s administration. The country benefited from the regional integration mechanism in the fields of education and health. The ALBA-TCP member countries hope to strengthen regional cooperation with the new government.
International greetings
Several heads of state and government congratulated Mitchell on his election.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, in a tweet, congratulated Dickon Mitchell and ratified the country’s “will to continue advancing in the development of friendly relations and cooperation between Grenada and Cuba, for the benefit of the people of both nations.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro also sent his regards. “We send sincere congratulations and the commitment to continue consolidating ties of brotherhood with the peoples of the Caribbean,” he tweeted.
Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip Pierre also congratulated his Grenadian counterpart. “On behalf of the government and the people of Saint Lucia, I wish to extend congratulations to PM-Elect Dickon Mitchell and the NDC on their electoral victory. You have an opportunity to shape your country’s future in conformity with the collective aspirations of the people,” he wrote in a tweet.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves, also sent his best wishes and expressed that “I look forward to working with the new government in advancing the regional agenda.”
Similarly, Dominica’s PM Roosevelt Skerrit, Barbados’ PM Mia Mottley, and the secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Carla Barnett, among other leaders, also sent their greetings.
