Ralph Gonsalves vows ULP will endure after election defeat

Former Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, whose Unity Labour Party (ULP) suffered a crushing defeat in Thursday’s general election after 25 years in office, said the party remains “very much alive” and that he will return to Parliament as Leader of the Opposition.

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Speaking on Saturday, Gonsalves conceded the election but did not offer specific congratulations to new Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday or the New Democratic Party (NDP), which secured 14 of the 15 seats in Parliament.

“Believe me this: at this very height of the NDP’s triumphalism, it is the moment of the start of their descent. And descend they will,” Gonsalves said.

He painted a stark picture of the challenges ahead for the new administration: “The unravelling usually commences imperceptibly and then becomes a flood of disarray, as the centre cannot hold and things fall apart. History and experience so teach, and in our fast-changing world, the clock of their demise is already ticking.”

Gonsalves, who led the opposition from 1998 to 2001, pledged to assume his new role “with dignity, duty and love,” saying, “I have trod this road before. It is not unfamiliar to me… There remain in me no personal vanities or demons to overcome. I accept, after prayerful consideration, that I have been set apart and blessed for a time like this.”

He said he will convene a meeting of the ULP leadership on Sunday to decide on appointments for two Senate seats. “Clearly, given the lopsided majority of the new regime in Parliament, we in the Opposition will be routinely out-voted, but the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines will judge us on the basis of the quality of our work, which I assure you will be of the highest standard,” he said.

Looking to the future, Gonsalves emphasized party renewal and resilience. “Labour is very much alive. We shall rendezvous with the electorate formally again in 2030 or before, as the circumstances demand or admit… Let us turn this setback into an advance,” he said, highlighting the potential for rebuilding and rejuvenation within the party.