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2025 Vincentian general election

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2025 Vincentian general election
← 2020 27 November 2025 Next →
15 of the 23 seats in the House of Assembly
8 seats needed for a majority
Registered103,524[1]
Turnout62.31% (Decrease 4.64pp)[1]
  First party Second party
 
Leader Godwin Friday Ralph Gonsalves
Party New Democratic Unity Labour
Leader since 27 November 2016 6 December 1998
Leader's seat Northern Grenadines North Central Windward
Last election 50.33%, 6 seats 49.59%, 9 seats
Seats won 14 1
Seat change Increase 8 Decrease 8
Popular vote 37,002 27,148
Percentage 57.61% 42.27%
Swing Increase 7.28pp Decrease 7.32pp
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election

Ralph Gonsalves
Unity Labour

Elected Prime Minister

Godwin Friday
New Democratic

General elections were held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 27 November 2025 to elect 15 members of the House of Assembly.[2][3][4]

Politics of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Executive
Legislative
Elections
Administrative divisions (parishes)
Foreign relations
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The incumbent Unity Labour Party (ULP) government, led by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, sought re-election to a record sixth term in office. They were challenged by the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), led by Godwin Friday, who sought to form government for the first time since 1998. The election resulted in a landslide victory for the NDP, winning 14 of the 15 seats up for election. In its worst result in party history, the ULP was reduced to one seat from 9, with Gonsalves as its only remaining representative. The party also saw several cabinet members defeated in what was the largest fall from government in the nation's history.[5] It was the worst result for the ULP since its foundation and the best result for the NDP since 1989.

Background

[edit]

The 2020 elections saw the incumbent Unity Labour Party (ULP) government under Ralph Gonsalves getting re-elected to a record fifth consecutive term.[6] While the ULP won nine seats, an increase by one, the incumbent party lost the popular vote for the first time since 1998.[7][8] Gonsalves was sworn in for his fifth term on 7 November 2020.[9]

The incumbent ULP government sought re-election to a record sixth term in office. They were challenged by the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), led by Godwin Friday, who sought to form government for the first time since 1998.[10]

Electoral system

[edit]

The 15 elected members (representatives) of the House of Assembly are elected every five years in single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post system.[11][12] A further six members (senators) are appointed;[3] four by the government and two by the opposition.[13][14] The remaining two seats are held by the attorney general and Speaker, for a total of 23 members.[15]

St. Vincent and the Grenadines has a two-party system. Only the ULP and NDP tend to win seats in elections.[14][16]

Parties

[edit]
Party Position Ideology Leader

(since)

Slogan and Manifesto
Unity Labour Party (ULP) Centre-left to left-wing Democratic socialism
Agrarian socialism
Republicanism 		Ralph Gonsalves
(December 1998)[17] 		"Lifting SVG higher."[18]
"Labour is working fuh We!"[19]
New Democratic Party (NDP) Centre-right Conservatism
Pro-Commonwealth 		Godwin Friday
(November 2016)[20] 		"Together We Win"[21]

"Yellow is the Code"[22]

Campaign

[edit]

On 28 October, outgoing Prime Minister Gonsalves dissolved the Parliament, starting the electoral campaign period.[23][24] The candidate filing deadline was 10 November, and the voter registration deadline was 13 November.[15] Thirty-two candidates filed to contest the 15 seats. Thirty of the candidates were members of either the ULP or NDP, and there was one independent candidate not affiliated with a party.[25] Doris Charles-Frederick, the leader of the National Liberation Movement (NLM), also ran as an independent candidate in South Leeward.[26] Nine of the candidates running were women, and before the election, there were five female members of the House of Assembly.[15][25]

Early in the campaign, the ULP was expected to lead in the election. In October, the Dunn Pierre Barnett & Company Canada (DPBA) conducted a poll predicting the ULP to lead one seat over the NDP. Women tended to favour the ULP, but men favoured the NDP. Urban voters, especially in Kingstown, recorded lower satisfaction with the government than rural voters.[27][28] Later, on 12 November, the DPBA still found that the ULP had a 64% chance of retaining power.[10]

The campaign for both parties hinged greatly on economic performance. The relatively high youth unemployment rate, at 27%, was a major driver of dissatisfaction with the ULP-led government.[27] The general unemployment rate of 18% and the poverty rate of 26% also affected the ULP's image.[29][30]

The ULP contested the election based on the economy, political stability, modernity, regionalism in the Caribbean, and attracting investment in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The ULP also supported increasing tourism to the country.[31] Gonsalves and the ULP also supported greater cooperation in the Caribbean.[32] This election was the first in which the ULP did not have a deputy leader.[24] The party focused on the fact that many of their members and candidates are younger than in the NDP.[24] Much sentiment against the ULP was due to their 24-year-long stint in government. The government vaccine mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic also affected the ULP's support.[5] Gonsalves was a strong supporter of the governments of Venezuela under Maduro and Cuba under Diaz-Canel.[30]

The NDP focused on reducing unemployment, improving infrastructure and healthcare, political change, the cost-of-living, and crime.[5][32][33] The party's strategy centered around groups least satisfied with the government.[27] The NDP also previously supported severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan and moving to closer ties with the PRC, although this was absent from their election manifesto and the NDP did not commit to such a move during the campaign.[10][34][35] The ULP had previously accused the PRC of financing the NDP.[36] The NDP has proposed a "golden passport" system in which foreigners could invest in the country in order to gain citizenship.[10][24] Surveys show that 62% of Vincentians would support such a citizenship-by-investment program.[37]

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) sent a ten-member "CARICOM Election Observation Mission" (CEOM) to monitor the election. The CEOM was invited by the outgoing government on 2 October. The mission was in the country from 23–29 November.[38][39]

Results

[edit]

The opposition NDP obtained a supermajority with 14 out of 15 elected seats, coming back to lead the government for the first time since 2001. This was the largest supermajority government for any party since the 1989 election,[40] and the worst result for the ULP since its foundation in the mid-1990s. The outgoing Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves was the only ULP representative to retain their seat.[5] Finance Minister Camillo Gonsalves and Agriculture Minister Saboto Caesar, who were both seen as potential leaders of the ULP, would also lose their respective seats.[41] Following the election, the ULP issued a statement saying that it would "keep working and advocating" for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.[29][30] Friday was sworn in as Prime Minister on 28 November and his cabinet was sworn in on 2 December.[29][42]

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
New Democratic Party37,00257.6114+8
Unity Labour Party27,14842.271–8
Independents800.1200
Total64,230100.00150
Valid votes64,23099.58
Invalid/blank votes2740.42
Total votes64,504100.00
Registered voters/turnout103,52462.31
Source: Electoral Office

By constituency

[edit]
Constituency Electorate Turnout % Political party Candidate Votes %
Central Kingstown 7,677 4,420 57.57 New Democratic Party St. Clair A. Leacock 2,842 64.6
Unity Labour Party Marvin C. Fraser 1,559 35.4
Central Leeward 7,194 4,780 66.44 New Democratic Party (gain) Conroy C. Huggins 2,404 50.5
Unity Labour Party Orando Brewster 2,356 49.5
East Kingstown 7,418 4,474 60.31 New Democratic Party Dwight F. Bramble 2,724 61.2
Unity Labour Party Luke V. Browne 1,725 38.8
East St. George 9,369 5,742 61.29 New Democratic Party (gain) Laverne H. Velox 3,394 59.1
Unity Labour Party Camillo M. Gonsalves 2,348 40.9
Marriaqua 7,073 4,390 62.07 New Democratic Party (gain) Phillip C. Jackson 2,388 54.6
Unity Labour Party St. Clair E. Prince 1,982 45.4
North Central Windward 5,891 3,597 61.06 Unity Labour Party Ralph E. Gonsalves 2,577 72.1
New Democratic Party Chieftain J. Neptune 996 27.9
North Leeward 6,445 4,512 70.00 New Democratic Party (gain) Kishore N. M. Shallow 2,526 56.2
Unity Labour Party Carlos James 1,966 43.8
North Windward 7,303 5,344 73.18 New Democratic Party (gain) Shevern R. John 2,779 52.2
Unity Labour Party Grace R. Walters 2,544 47.8
Northern Grenadines 4,376 2,535 57.93 New Democratic Party Godwin L. Friday 2,183 86.6
Unity Labour Party A. M. Carlos Williams 339 13.4
South Central Windward 6,626 4,303 64.94 New Democratic Party (gain) Isreal R. Bruce 2,308 53.8
Unity Labour Party Saboto S. Caesar 1,984 46.2
South Leeward 8,627 5,260 60.97 New Democratic Party Nigel Stephenson 3,237 61.8
Unity Labour Party Grenville Williams 1,971 37.6
Independent Doris D. Charles 28 0.6
South Windward 7,190 4,375 60.85 New Democratic Party (gain) Andrew D. John 2,446 56.2
Unity Labour Party Darron R. John 1,907 43.8
Southern Grenadines 3,084 1,789 58.00 New Democratic Party Terrance Ollivierre 1,172 65.8
Unity Labour Party Chevonne A. Stewart 609 34.2
West Kingstown 7,226 4,169 57.69 New Democratic Party Daniel E. Cummings 2,691 65.0
Unity Labour Party Keisal M. Peters 1,450 35.0
West St. George 8,025 4,814 59.99 New Democratic Party (gain) Kaschaka Cupid 2,912 60.7
Unity Labour Party Curtis M. King 1,831 38.2
Independent Kenna V. Questelles 52 1.1
Source: Electoral Office

Reactions

[edit]
  • Jamaica: Prime Minister Andrew Holness congratulated Friday on his victory, describing the election as an "important moment for the Vincentian people" and wishing Friday "every success as he undertakes the responsibility of national leadership".[5]
  • Taiwan: The ambassador to St. Vincent and the Grenadines congratulated Friday, despite the NDP previously proposing severing relations with Taiwan and pivoting towards China.[5][35] However, the opposition Kuomintang was harsher towards the new government, saying that the election reflected “deteriorating cross-strait relations”.[35]
  • Venezuela: President Maduro said that he would be willing to work with Friday's government and thanked the outgoing Gonsalves.[29] Gonsalves had been a strong supporter of Maduro's government.[30]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Electoral Office – Preliminary Resutls
  2. ^ McLeod, Sheri-kae (1 April 2025). "St. Vincent PM Ralph Gonsalves seeks historic sixth term in office". CNW Network. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b Saint Vincent and the Grenadines IPU Parline
  4. ^ "Ralph Gonsalves announces Nov 27 General Election in St Vincent and the Grenadines – WIC News". WIC News. 29 October 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Duncan, Natricia (28 November 2025). "St Vincent opposition party celebrates historic election win". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  6. ^ "Ralph romps to fifth straight election win in St Vincent and the Grenadines". Jamaica Gleaner. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  7. ^ "ULP wins 5 in a row". iWitness News. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Elections in SVG, 'popular votes' – facts and figures". thevincentian.com. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  9. ^ McLeod, Sheri-kae (7 November 2020). "Ralph Gonsalves Sworn into Office for a Fifth Consecutive Term". Caribbean National Weekly. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d Henry, Robertson (27 November 2025). "St Vincent heads to polls as incumbent party seeks sixth straight term". Reuters. Archived from the original on 3 December 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  11. ^ "Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | House of Assembly | Electoral system". IPU Parline: global data on national parliaments. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  12. ^ "Voting". www.gov.vc. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  13. ^ "Senators". assembly.gov.vc. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  14. ^ a b "St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report". Freedom House. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  15. ^ a b c "IFES Election Guide | Elections: Saint Vincentian House of Assembly 2025 General". www.electionguide.org. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  16. ^ "Voting". www.gov.vc. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  17. ^ "Dr. Hon. Ralph Gonsalves". Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Manifesto". Unity Labour Party. Archived from the original on 7 December 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  19. ^ "ULP 2025 Manifesto" (PDF). Vote ULP. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  20. ^ Haynes, Abigail (28 November 2016). "NDP's New President". NBC SVG.
  21. ^ "Manifesto". New Democratic Party (NDP) – St. Vincent. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  22. ^ "Pierre dubbed 'Code Breaker' as SLP wins landslide victory in St. Lucia". One News SVG. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  23. ^ "St Vincent to hold General Elections on 27th November, 2025". St Vincent Times. 11 November 2025. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  24. ^ a b c d Chance, Kenton X. (4 November 2025). "SVG General Election Vital to the Survival of the Two Major Political Parties". Caribbean Today. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  25. ^ a b Davis, Jovani (16 November 2025). "32 candidates set for St. Vincent and the Grenadines general elections". CNW Network. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
  26. ^ "Wife of former ULP MP forms party to contest next elections". iWitness News. 21 August 2024. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  27. ^ a b c Pierre, C. Justine (15 November 2025). "DPBA predicts tight race in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' November 27, 2025 general elections". The New Today. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  28. ^ "DPBA Poll Projects Hairline Lead for ULP in St Vincent Election 2025". St Vincent Times. 11 November 2025. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  29. ^ a b c d Coto, Danica (28 November 2025). "One of world's longest serving democratic leaders loses election in St. Vincent and the Grenadines". AP News. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  30. ^ a b c d Coto, Danica. "One of world's longest serving democratic leaders loses election". ABC News. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  31. ^ "ROLLING OUT THE VISION BEFORE OUR VERY EYES" (PDF). Office of the Prime Minister. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  32. ^ a b "Opposition NDP party claims victory in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  33. ^ Duncan, Natricia (28 November 2025). "St Vincent prime minister seeks record sixth term in tight election". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  34. ^ "Taiwan congratulates opposition for election win in ally Saint Vincent". Reuters. 28 November 2025. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  35. ^ a b c Chung, Lawrence (1 December 2025). "Will the St Vincent election cost Taiwan another Caribbean ally?". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  36. ^ "St. Vincent PM accuses China of election interference to reinstate Golden Passport scheme – Caribbean Life". www.caribbeanlife.com. 1 July 2025. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  37. ^ Nesheim, Christian Henrik (28 November 2025). "Opposition Declares Election Win in St Vincent, Paving the Way for a CBI Program". IMI Daily. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  38. ^ "ARRIVAL STATEMENT | CARICOM Election Observation Mission to the General Elections of St Vincent and the Grenadines – CARICOM". caricom.org. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  39. ^ Webmaster (25 November 2025). "CARICOM Elections Observer Mission on the ground in SVG – Searchlight". Retrieved 3 December 2025.
  40. ^ "'Yellow wash' Gonsalves loses power after 24-yrs". St Vincent Times. 28 November 2025. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  41. ^ Chabrol, Denis (28 November 2025). "St Vincent's Ralph Gonsalves suffers crushing defeat after 25 years in office". Demerara Waves. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  42. ^ "New SVG govt ministers sworn in". St. Vincent Times. 2 December 2025. Retrieved 3 December 2025.
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