The following table includes two parts. The first part shows the outcomes of all parties of the national assembly by shares for each election since 1994. The second part shows the participation of the electorate for each national election since 1994. This part distinguishes between the total amount of people at the age over 18 years and all registered voters. Latter distinction is valid for the voter turnout.

Source: IEC, EISA and StatsSA.

After 13 years of mismanagement, corruption, scandal, fiscal impropriety and assorted crimes and misdemeanors under Keith Mitchell’s NNP regime, I am pleased happy overjoyed XTATIC to announce that the National Democratic Congress has been declared the winning party of the Grenada Election 2008!

Congratulations to my new Prime Minister Tillman Thomas, or as Little YingYang calls him “Our Man. The Statesman!“

Grenada is in celebration tonight. Yellow yellow!!!!!

I’m exhausted, exhilarated, and still a bit giddy.  Pictures and more posts tomorrow.

Well it’s official! Prime Minister Keith Mitchell announced the long-awaited date of the next general election – July 8th 2008.

This gives us a month’s worth of corn-beef-and-rum campaignery, general candidate assholery, over-the-top promises, grand pronouncements, extraordinary personal attacks and of course – good, old, straightforward lying. Oh yes folks, silly season is upon us. And I, for one, cannot WAIT!

Mike at Media Blast posted this item about Jamaican minister Olivia “Babsy” Grange, and he mentions briefly that she was recently in Grenada to address the ruling New National Party’s Annual Womens’ Convention. Well! What Mike does not mention is that Miss Babsy, following her remarks about how pleased she was to see the level of female representation on a national/governmental level, proceeded to horrify me (and many others) by mentioning [paraphrase]

“All yuh have some good men in government too! Some ah dem real cute! Look at allyuh prime minister. He cute eh?”

Oh yes she did readers. Oh yes she did.

2008 is already living up to its promise to be an eventful year in Grenada, particularly in the political arena. Elections are due some time this year – the actual date of which Keith Mitchell is holding close to his chest. And with good reason.

He is going to loose and he knows it.

Back in January, Ricky Singh wrote an article on the “Winds of Change” Elections happening throughout the Caribbean. Significant to this post is this

A crucial difference between Musa’s quest for a third-term government and that of Mitchell’s bid for a fourth consecutive term is that the former had secured his March 2003 electoral victory not just with a landslide 22-seat majority, but 53 per cent of the valid popular votes.

In contrast, the latter had survived defeat by a one-seat margin (8 to 7) and with less than 50 per cent of the votes cast (48 per cent NNP to the NDC’s 45.06 per cent) for the 15-member House of Representatives.

That one-seat majority came from Carriacou by a mere six votes. It was unsuccessfully challenged and Mitchell’s NNP has been engaged since in strenuous political manoeuvres to maintain power amid natural and man-made disasters.

Not unexpectedly, Prime Minister Mitchell was quick to declare, following the defeat of Arthur’s government in Barbados, that he did not recognise the changing administrations as any political wind of change blowing across Caricom.

It is a pity that PM Mitchell didn’t mention to his political colleagues that they too should be as dismissive of the present political climate as he was. It might have prevented Anthony Boatswain, the Minister of Economic Development & Planning, from plunging himself, his government and the beseiged people of Grenada into total shame and embarassment.

“Brothers and sisters what has been happening, we’ve been having an unfortunate and hostile wind blowing through the Caribbean,” he said.

“A hostile wind resulting in higher prizes; a hostile wind resulting in even some undesirables getting into government. But I can tell you what we want in Grenada and the Caribbean is not a wind of change, but a change in the wind that has been blowing in the region.”

As of today at noon, a full two days after this speech, no one in government has publically acknowledged Minister Boatswain’s statements. Unfortunately for them, the speech which was recorded by local media outlets, has hit the regional news outlets. The CMC regional news roundups reference this comment in almost every broadcast. Local radio and TV talk-shows hosts have been inundated with calls from ordinary Grenadians voicing outrage, shock and shame. Some people even asked one of the talk-show hosts to “call up”the other Caribbean governments “and tell dem we sorry”. Opposition MP Peter David had to hold a press conference to issue an apology on behalf of the citizens of the country. Meanwhile, dead silence from EmbarassmentCentral.

I for one would love to be a fly on the wall when PM Mitchell shows up for any of the regional conferences scheduled for the next few days.