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Not the worst I think...btw glad to see the large voter turnout

New Antigua Prime Minister Sworn In

By COLIN JAMES, Associated Press Writer

ST. JOHN'S, Antigua - Longtime opposition leader Baldwin Spencer was sworn in as prime minister Wednesday after a decisive victory in elections that ended the half-century dominance of a family political dynasty in Antigua and Barbuda.

Spencer, a 55-year-old labor activist, took the oath of office at the governor general's residence before hundreds of supporters and politicians. He said the government would get to work right away.

"There is no honeymoon period in this business," Spencer said. "We have to get down to work because we have a packed agenda."

His predecessor Lester Bird conceded defeat earlier Wednesday. With all votes counted, preliminary results of Tuesday's elections showed Spencer's United Progressive Party with 12 of 17 parliamentary seats. Bird himself was unseated by Errol Cort, a former attorney general whom Bird fired in 2001.

"I think that the people have decided that it was a time for change," he said.

The Bird family has dominated politics here since the 1950s, when Bird's father, the late Vere Bird Sr., was a revolutionary labor leader defying British colonizers to demand higher wages for cane cutters. The elder Bird led his country to independence in 1981.

The elder Bird led his country to independence in 1981 and was prime minister until his retirement in 1994, when his son Lester Bird won elections.

Results showed Bird garnered only 45 percent in his district, and his Antigua Labor Party came away with just four seats, down from its previous nine.

Bird's government has been badly damaged by scandals that in recent years have centered on allegations of bribery, misuse of funds in the national health insurance plan, and a 13-year-old girl's charges that he and his brother used her for sex and to procure cocaine.

Bird, 66, denied the last charges and organized an inquiry that found no evidence.

Anticipating his defeat, Bird had workers remove boxes of "personal items" from his office over the weekend, drawing hundreds of protesters who accused him of carting away incriminating documents. Bird dismissed the charges as "absolutely crazy."

The Electoral Commission reported heavy turnout of 75-80 percent, compared to 60 percent in 1999.

One seat was undecided due to a tie on the smaller island of Barbuda; officials said a new vote would be held there in the coming weeks.

Among opposition winners was Jacqui Quinn-Leandro, a 37-year-old consultant who becomes Antigua's first woman to hold a House seat.

Bird's party had campaigned on a record of 4 percent growth in an economy based on sagging tourism and an offshore banking industry that critics say is corrupt.

While Antigua attracts upscale tourists, especially yachters, the opposition says few benefits reach ordinary people. Nearly half the 70,000 islanders still use pit latrines.

Spencer's party has pledged greater unemployment benefits and funding for school uniforms and lunches.

In the late 1970s, Lester Bird was named in a U.S. federal grand jury investigation as the moving force for Antigua being used to ship U.S. artillery to South Africa's apartheid government despite an arms embargo.

Lester Bird's brother, Vere Bird Jr., was accused of shipping Israeli arms to Colombia's Medellin drug cartel in 1989. He lost his Cabinet post but never was prosecuted.

Copyright © 2004 The Associated Press.

Antiguan's have finally realized that they were in need of a change....I am glad to see that they have finally looked towards the future and not short term gratification by accepting handouts that Bird gave year after year for a vote!

It will take time for the country to see a change, but in it will happen in due time. This time around, I hope that all the corrupt individuals will pay for all the crimes they committed. Justice will be served.

So when are you going back home....

.I see he has a Dominican as his Attorney General, Justin Simon.....



Spencer sworn in as new Antigua leader


Mr Spencer's UPP won a landslide victory
United Progressive Party (UPP) leader Baldwin Spencer has been sworn in as Antigua and Barbuda's prime minister after defeating Lester Bird’s Antigua Labour Party (ALP).
Mr Spencer and four key ministers took the oath before Governor-General Sir James Carlisle at Government House in St. John’s after taking 12 of 17 parliamentary seats in Tuesday's general elections.

Prime Minister Spencer is taking over responsibility for National Security, Information, Ecclesiastical Affairs, Barbuda Affairs, Labour and Public Administration.

The four others sworn in as ministers,included Dominica-born Antiguan, Justin Simon as Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General; Lawyer Errol Cort as Minister of Finance and the Economy; Wilmoth Daniel Minister of Works and Communication, and Lawyer Harold Lovell as Minister of Tourism, Foreign Affairs, International Transportation and Trade.

But while the UPP has been celebrating, the ALP camp has been stuck with the stark reality of being ousted from power after 28 years at the helm.

Political analyst Arvel Grant, told BBC Caribbean Service that economic problems and years of scandal had dogged the Bird campaign.

"A lot of things have gone wrong for Lester Bird and it has gone wrong for a number of years now. For the better part of 10 years this government has had to be borrowing money to make up the wage bill for the public sector because of that it has not had enough funds to deal with the infrastructure and the reconstruction of the social services," Mr Grant said.

The election was also marked by corruption charges against Mr Bird’s family dynasty that has dominated Antigua and Barbuda for more than half a century.

Scandals in recent years have centred on allegations of bribery, misuse of and missing funds in the national health insurance plan, and a 13-year-old girl's charges that Mr Bird and his brother used her for sex and to procure cocaine.

Mr Bird denied the last charges. An inquiry into the allegations found there was no evidence.

"The image of the government, the fact that we had a horrible mix up in terms of the Medical Benefits Scheme, millions of dollars seem to have gone in directions that need to be clarified," Mr Grant said.

Mr Grant said the introduction of the new electoral machinery that included voter identification cards and a new voters list had served to enhance the UPP’s chances.

"It became a fairer election once the list had been cleaned up the will of the people which had clearly been trying to break through a number of elections cycles finally came to the fore," Mr Grant said.

As the newly elected leader, one of Mr Spencer's first appointments was to be at Caricom's meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis - where the fate of Haiti in the regional integration movement will be discussed.

But Mr Spencer has said he will miss the summit because he is busy forming a government, and preparing for the presentation of the national budget early next week.

Instead, newly appointed Minister of Tourism, Foreign Affairs, International Transportation and Trade Mr Lovell, will be heading Antigua and Barbuda's delegation to the Caricom meeting.

The Spencer administration also plans to move quickly to pass legislation on integrity and the prevention of corruption

:) a d/can in an antiguan government hopefully TRUE caribbean integration might be closer than we once thought

hopefully....but Antigua's a little different than many of the other countries, in that we've had a much more liberal policy towards allowing Caribbean nationals to settle in and become a part of Antigua. It's no far stretch to think that Simon is just a by-product of Antigua's willingness to integrate with other Caribbean nationals. Nevertheless, maybe this is something we'll continue to see throughout the region