CHANGE CAN’T WAIT! This was the mantra of the Anguilla Progressive Movement’s (APM) 2020 election campaign, and it is one that obviously resonated with the people of Anguilla because, on the evening of Monday 29th June 2020, the APM soundly defeated the Anguilla United Front (AUF) — winning seven out of eleven seats. The APM ran a winning campaign with a team that appealed to the voting public — particularly the youth. Its rebranding and marketing strategy, its “5 votes, 5 boats” slogan, the energetic atmosphere at its meetings, its diverse suite of candidates, all combined to convince people to get on board the boat bringing change. Despite the fact that the members of the APM have limited, or in some cases no, experience in Government, the people of Anguilla chose them ahead of the AUF Government with seasoned political leaders. The people have spoken clearly.
It was a long and blistering campaign and many longed for Election Day so that it could be all over quickly. From all account, the day itself went pretty smoothly. This 2020 election was one with several firsts. For the very first time, certain categories of voters could vote in advance of Election Day;voter registration cards were used; voting machines were used; and voters could vote for up to 5 persons (1 in their District and 4 Island-wide). The AUF administration has to be congratulated for the reform of the electoral process. Former Minister Cora Richardson Hodge, and her team, would have led the legislative and constitutional reform process which brought about these changes. The former Supervisor of Elections (Ms.Aurjul Wilson)would have also provided adviceand initiated the machinery to modernise the process. The current Supervisor of Elections (Mr.Rodney Rey) and his team must be commended for their expert handling of the process. Apart from the difficulties associated with the location used for the advance polls, the general public had high praise for the voting experience especially as regards the reduction in waiting time.
After the close of the polls, there was a palpable anxiety among the populace as they waited for the voting machines to be transported to the House of Assembly for the count. Keithstone Greaves, of Radio Anguilla, had the unenviable task of trying to keep us at easewith information from previous elections dating back to the seventies. Though quite enlightening, this did little to alleviate the anxiety as the island held its collective breath. Finally, we watched on social media, and on television, as the vehicles transporting the machines arrived one by one, accompanied by electoral personnel. The machines from District 1 (Island Harbour) were the last to arrive and following a few brief words from the Supervisor of Elections, which at the time seemed to take forever, the media sticks from each polling station were loaded into the computer and the results presented for each District in record time.
The electronic tabulating system is not for the faint of heart. There is no opportunity, as with the manual count, to identify trends and predict the outcome. The immediacy of the results can be quite jarring depending on which side of the fence you sit. Based on the feedback from the many persons to whom I have spoken, the biggest surpriseof the night was the defeat of Premier Victor Banks — leader of the AUF and a forty year political veteran — by newcomer Dee-Ann Kentish Rogers of the APM. The defeat of Mr. Love (Curtis Richardson), by longstanding rival, Haydn Hughes, also sent a clear message that people did not believe they were in a “blessed place”. With regard to the Island-wide candidates, the pack was led mainly by the APM candidates — along with Jose Vanterpool, the AUF’s youngest candidate. It was clear based on the numbers that, generally,the APM supporters voted for its full slate of candidates just as dictated by its slogan. However, candidate Kyle Hodge of the APM was hugely popular and appealed to voters across party lines as indicated by the number of votes he amassed.
While independent candidates accumulated votes, they appealed far less to voters than those candidates who were part of a team. I believe the issue with independent candidates stems from two underlying truths. Firstly, they cannot form a government by themselves and so the likelihood of them being able to implement the ideas they speak of on their platforms is virtually nil. Secondly, if successful, unless they plan on sitting in opposition for five years, they are likely to join other persons to form a Government, but the voters are not given any information regarding who they are likely to team up with, and hence who their votes will go to. I’m not sure how independents can overcome these challenges– but I would suggest that if they want to put up a serious challenge to the two established parties, they need to work as a team.
Anguilla can be proud of the conduct of the 2020 election. It has resulted in eleven persons being elected to the House of Assembly. On the Government side will sit Dr Ellis Lorenzo Webster, Mr Haydn Hughes, Mr Kenneth Hodge, Ms Dee-Ann Kentish Rogers, Mrs Quincia Gumbs-Marie, Mr Kyle Hodge and Mr Merrick Richardson. On the opposition side will sit Mrs Cora Richardson Hodge, Mr Evans McNielRogers, Mr Cardigan Connor and Mr Jose Vanterpool. Undoubtedly, with this slate, we can expect that the debates in the Anguilla House of Assembly will be robust and will enhance democracy and good governance.
The Anguillian people voted for change — and a change in leadership has come. It is now up to those leading Anguilla to bring about the meaningful change promised to the people. We pray for God’s blessings on our new Government and our country.
