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Grenada - Politics

Key facts

  • Last Election: July 2008
  • Next Election: 2013
  • Head of State: HM Queen Elizabeth ll, represented by Governor-General, Sir Charles Daniel Williams (1996-)
  • Head of Government: Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell
  • Ruling Party: National Democratic Congress
  • Independence: 7 February 1974

In the elections in 1990 no single party gained an overall majority and another merger, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), formed the government under Nicholas Brathwaite.

The 1995 elections, contested by seven parties, were narrowly won by the New National Party (NNP), now led by Dr Keith Mitchell, who became prime minister. The NNP gained eight seats, the NDC, now led by George Brizan, five and the Grenada United Labour Party (GULP), two seats.

Two no-confidence motions following the elections were unsuccessful. However, in May 1997, five opposition parties, including the NDC, GULP and the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) formed an alliance to provide a common front against the NNP, leaving the government with a majority of one.

In November 1998 the foreign and legal affairs minister and party chairman, Raphael Fletcher, defected to GULP, leaving NNP with only seven of the 15 seats in the House of Representatives and obliged to call elections in January 1999, 17 months before the end of its full five-year term. The government’s record of economic management, reflected in the growing economy, was rewarded by a landslide victory with 62% of the votes – it was not only the first time a party had taken all 15 seats, but also the first time for any party to have won two successive elections.

In another early election in November 2003 Mitchell and NNP were returned for a third term. NNP won eight seats, with 48% of the votes, and NDC seven, with 46%, following a recount in two constituencies where the margin was very small.

In a bid to secure an unprecedented fourth consecutive term – in the elections that were to follow in July 2008 – Mitchell touted his successes in achieving sustained economic growth during his 13-year era in government and in rebuilding the country post- Hurricane Ivan (2004) and Hurricane Emily (2005). The NDC, on the other hand, accused the NNP of corruption while promising better economic management, a lower cost of living and job creation.

In a relatively peaceful election, monitored by a strong contingent from the Organization of American States, the NDC took 11 of the 15 House of Representatives’ seats winning 51.2% of the vote; with the NNP taking the remaining four – 48% of the vote. Tillman Thomas, leader of the NDC since 2000, became prime minister.

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