Governor Julia Crouch is expected to swear in Anguilla’s first ever female head of government later on Thursday after Cora Richardson-Hodge led the main opposition Anguilla United Front (AUF) to a convincing victory on Wednesday’s general election.
The AUF won eight of the 11 seats at the stake in the Parliament with the outgoing Anguilla Progressive Movement (APM) of Premier Dr Ellis L Webster, winning the other three seats. Webster was among the victorious candidates for the party.
According to the preliminary results, the AUF won all four “at large” seats and four other constituencies.
“To the people of Anguilla, we extend our deepest gratitude. Your unwavering support, well wishes, and prayers mean the world to us. Today, you showed up, you stood strong, and you made your voices heard.
“We promise to work with you and for you to listen, to serve, and to rally around you, just as you have rallied around us. Your faith in us fuels our commitment, and we are truly humbled by your trust,” the AUF said in a statement posted on its Facebook page, just after the preliminary results were announced just before midnight.
“Anguilla, today we witness a momentous milestone in our nation’s history. Let us extend our heartfelt congratulations to Mrs. Cora Richardson Hodge on her resounding success at the polls!
“She has shattered barriers and etched her name in history as Anguilla’s first female Premier a testament to progress, resilience, and the power of leadership. This is more than a victory; it is an inspiration for generations to come,” the AUF added.
Apart from Richardson-Hodge, the other victorious AUF candidates are Jose Vanterpool, Jeison Byran, Shelllya Rogers, Kyle Hodge, Cordell Richardson, Cardigan Connor and Evans McNiel.
The APM’s Haydn Hughes and Merrick Richardson will join Webster on the opposition benches.
An estimated 12,432 registered voters were eligible to vote in the election here where 34 candidates were vying for 11 of the 13 seats in the House of Assembly. The other two seats are reserved for non-elected members.
In Anguilla, the 11 seats in the Parliament up for grabs are determined by direct voting. Seven members are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting.
The other four seats are assigned to ‘at-large’ candidates elected from the entire island by plurality at-large voting.
Voters may vote up to four candidates in the at-large seats. Seven seats are needed for a majority. Voters can choose up to four candidates in the at-large seats.
The polls were the fourth to be held in the British Overseas Territories (BOT) in the Caribbean within a four month period after the voters in Montserrat in November last year returned Premier Reuben Meade to office after he had returned from a 10-year hiatus.
The others were held this year in Turks and Caicos Islands and Bermuda.
During the campaign leading up to the election, the main issues were the economy, particularly the controversial Goods and Services Tax(GST), management of Anguilla’s hugely successful artificial intelligence (ai) domain name, tourism, cost of living, and concerns about crime.
Source-CMC
