( Real News Antigua ) The United Progressive Party (UPP) has now entered crunch mode,
as the by-election in St. Mary’s South is just a week away.
The Party staged a successful “Shugycade” (motorcade) through the
constituency, followed by a rally and concert on Sunday, October 15;
and further campaigning is expected until the before the by-election,
says UPP spokesperson Leon Chaku Symister.
Symister notes that the UPP has been waiting for over 100 days for
the October 24 polls, and it is gratified that its candidate, Kelvin
“Shugy” Simon, is doing well, according to polling data.
He says that Sunday’s event in Bolans, which was well attended, was
a show of support for Simon, who, he is confident, will re-take the
seat.
Symister says that, for the next several days, the Party will intensify
its house-to-house campaign, touching base with the electors of St.
Mary’s South.
An election is lost or won on Election Day, Symister states; and the
outcome depends on a party’s ability to get out its supporters, as
well as the fence-sitters who have no partisan affiliation.
Therefore, he says, the UPP’s get-out-the-vote drive will be vital to
ensure that Simon is returned to the House of Representatives.
In the meantime, he says, the UPP is satisfied that, with the effective
execution of the Election Day plan, Simon will be victorious.
This by-election is not one to take for granted, Symister warns
eligible voters, since Prime Minister Gaston Browne has been out
and about among constituents.
He says that Browne is desperate for this seat, which will further
enable him in to do as he wishes in Parliament – including passing
legislation to give land to foreign investors.
At the same time, citizens and residents continue struggling to get “a
piece of the rock” or are given the opportunity to own land only
during an election campaign, Symister says.
