Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre has congratulated and welcomed the victorious National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its leader Dickon Mitchell on their election victory on Thursday evening.
In a Twitter message from Kigali, Rwanda where he’s attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Prime Minister Pierre said: “The people of Grenada have spoken. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) will form the new government of Grenada.
“On behalf of the government and the people of Saint Lucia, I wish to extend congratulations to Prime Minister-Elect Dickon Mitchell and the NDC on their electoral victory.”
Mitchell and the NDC defeated the New National Party (NNP), led by his namesake Dr Keith Mitchell, 9-6 in Thursday’s poll.
The Saint Lucia PM told his incoming new Grenada counterpart: “You have an opportunity to shape your country’s future in conformity with the collective aspirations of the people of Grenada.”
Meanwhile, the Saint Lucia PM has also acknowledged the “sterling contribution” made by former Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell, whose NNP “did very much to keep Grenada on a development path consistent with Caribbean realities.
Contacted by THE VOICE, PM Pierre said from Kigali: “Dr Mitchell served the best he could and we must acknowledge both his government’s contributions and his own, while we respect the expressed will of the Grenadian electorate.”
According to Pierre: “The two Grenada leaders have shown maturity by conversing immediately after the results were announced, with the former PM welcoming his successor and promising to cooperate in the national interest from the Opposition benches.”
The Saint Lucia PM said: “This is what Democracy is about and the Grenada leaders have set an example worth emulating, even if only to remind us all that election results reflect the will of the electorate and that expressed will must always be respected by winners and losers alike, in common national interest.”
He concluded: “I therefore applaud both political leaders in Grenada and call on others in the region to take note that after elections are over, the interests of the nation must always remain foremost on the minds of all – winners and losers alike!”