The former Minister of Infrastructure, Ports, Energy and Labour and Castries North MP, Stephenson King, made official his intentions to contest the Castries North seat as an independent candidate.
King, in an address to the nation on Choice TV Network, dubbed the King’s Speech, agonizingly informed his supporters that he could no longer be part of an organization that he hardly recognized.
The Castries North MP had been a stalwart in the United Workers Party from 1981 following an inaugural youth conference of the United Workers Party, where he was elected the President of the Party’s Youth Arm. He officially entered the fray of politics in 1987 where he was nominated as the candidate for the Castries North-East Constituency, a race he would eventually win come general elections of that year.
A former Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Mr. King bemoaned what he considered to be a new brand of politics within the Uniter Workers Party government that left him singing a familiar line, “sa pas flambeau (that is not our flambeau)”.
The United Workers Party has not named a replacement for King but indicated that they were prepared for such an announcement. Saint Lucia’s general election is scheduled for July 26th 2021 and has long been considered the most important election in the island’s political history.