FIVE?PEOPLE?have so far declared an interest in contesting the St John by-election for the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP), but reports suggest as many as 12 could be interested.
However, the No. 1 question in the Dems’ camp still appears to be whether Mara Thompson, widow of late Prime Minister David Thompson, will seek the nomination.
Mrs Thompson is considered the favourite for the nomination but is yet to publicly state whether she will try to replace her husband as the Member of Parliament for the constituency.
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart revealed on Friday that he has decided on the date for the by-election to replace the late
Prime Minister who passed away on October 23. The election is constitutionally due within 90 days after a seat has become vacant, which in this case would be by January 22, the day after Errol Barrow Day.
Meantime, the list of DLP hopefuls keeps growing. They include Rastafarian environmentalist Herman Lowe, known to many as “Ras Bongo Spear”.
Like Lowe, financial analyst, senator and parliamentary secretary Jepter Ince said yesterday that he had formally written the party, seeking the nomination.
Composer and former chairman of the National Cultural Foundation (NCF), Anthony Walrond, was among the first to give notice of an intention to represent the DLP in the by-election.
Chartered accountant Peter Carter, the campaign manager of St George South Member of Parliament Dr Esther Byer-Suckoo, is also reported to be interested. Another name being mentioned is Dale Lashley, managing director of Lashley & Waithe Fish Processors Inc., but this could not be confirmed yesterday.
Former Barbados cricketer Livingstone Puckerin said he had been approached by a number of people to make a bid for the nomination.
“I have not made any decision yet; I am still considering the matter,” he told the DAILY NATION.
However, Lowe said: “I sent my letter to the party’s St John branch about three-four weeks ago. I have what it takes to represent the people of St John.”
He described himself as a community activist, “a grassroots-minded person” and “a man of ideas and action” who was trained in Israel in rural industrialisation, worked with the United Nations system and travelled the world.
He said he wanted to represent the parish in the House of Assembly so he could do something to stop its designation as “the poorest parish in Barbados”.
His “manifesto” proposes a “quasi-municipal” approach to the political business of St John.
“This speaks to a probability of fundamental constitutional realignment in sync with 21st century realities,” he said.
“Secondly, as regards the parish constituency’s agricultural moorings, similarly our community-based idea would be to promote Barbados’ first ‘Multi-purpose Co-operative Agricultural Settlement Project’ as part of a wider Comprehensive Indigenous Municipal Policy framework and rural industrialisation plan.”
Lowe was a DLP candidate in the 2003 general elections, losing to the Barbados Labour Party’s (BLP) Mia Mottley in St Michael North East, by 938 votes to 3 724 votes. (TY)
