Reports claim that ALP has ramped up inducements and intimidation to control outcome of St. Mary’s South by-election

Reports out of St. Mary’s South are claiming that the Antigua Labour
Party (ALP) has intensified its campaign of bribery, treating, and
undue political influence, as the by-election is just six days away.

Kelvin “Shugy” Simon, the United Progressive Party (UPP) candidate,
says he is receiving reports that constituents are being offered
money in exchange for their voter-identification cards. This,
reportedly, is to prevent them from voting for him and to give the
ALP candidate an unfair advantage.

Further, Simon reports, the intimidation tactic continues, with
persons’ job security being threatened.

However, the UPP candidate is admonishing constituents not to be
intimidated. He reminds them that no one can know for whom they
vote on October 24 – unless they, themselves, reveal it.
 
Simon adds that the Labour Party is coming at him, too, with full
force, throwing everything his way, including “the kitchen sink.”
 
Meanwhile, Simon says he and his team have been in overdrive
mode as they finalize campaign plans ahead of next week’s poll.
 
The ALP will stop at nothing to win the seat, he says; therefore, he is
taking nothing for granted and continuing his house-to-house
circuit. The team is also going through the Register for Elections –
published last Thursday, October 12 – with a fine-tooth comb.

In the meantime, the Browne Administration has been working
overtime in that constituency – paving roads; erecting guard rails at
the Bolans Bridge; painting schools and installing air-conditioning
units at the Urlings Primary; painting the fisheries complex; and
undertaking last-minute touches on the still-closed Bolans Clinic.
Most recently, the Labour Party candidate donated money to a
football club.
 
All this, pundits say, shows how desperate Prime Minister Gaston
Browne is to hold onto power, and is an effort to secure a victory in
that constituency. It also underscores the criticism that the Labour
Party has never won an election fairly – that is, without inducements
– they conclude.