San Juan, July 28 (EFE). Saint Lucia’s new Prime Minister, Philippe Pierre, was sworn in on Wednesday to take over the position, after winning the Caribbean nation’s general election last Monday.
At the event, Pierre, the leader of the Workers’ Party of St. Lucia, thanked the people for their support and trust, and for allowing their 25-year representation to lead the nation over the next five years.
The country must be saved from the crisis it was mired in, said Pierre, “and most of you accepted my offer to lead this rescue mission.”
Pierre’s victory is a political blow to the prime minister and leader of the ruling United Labor Party, Allen Chastanet, who has been seeking re-election.
According to official data released on Tuesday, Pierre won 13 of the 17 seats at stake in Parliament.
ULP members won two seats, nine fewer than last time, while independent candidates moved from having never won seats to two.
Pierre promised his compatriots that they would be able to discuss the country’s political affairs freely, away from political abuse and “where our heritage is respected and the environment is preserved.”
“We have to run an inclusive, equitable and just society when the dignity of every individual is respected and citizens are treated equally,” he said.
“I promised to be a minister not to a part of the population but to the whole people,” he added.
In the 2016 general election, the United Workers Party won eleven of the 17 seats in Parliament.
About 160,000 registered voters were called on Monday to elect the new Saint Lucia government.
The elections were monitored by teams of observers from the Commonwealth, the Organization of American States and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Saint Lucia is a small Caribbean nation of 178,000 people with an area of 600 square kilometers and is a member of CARICOM. Its economy is mainly fueled by tourism and banana cultivation.
Although it is an independent country, it maintains the King of the United Kingdom as the head of state, who appoints the Governor-General and citizens elect the Prime Minister who is the leader of the party with the most votes in legislative elections and becomes president. from the government. EFE
© EFE 2021. Redistribution and redistribution of all or part of the content of the EFE Services, without the prior and express consent of Agencia EFE SA, is expressly prohibited.
“Award-winning alcohol trailblazer. Hipster-friendly internetaholic. Twitter ninja. Infuriatingly humble beer lover. Pop culture nerd.”