Montserrat will have its first by-election in over thirty-five years when voters go to the polls to vote for a replacement on the Legislative seat left vacant by former Premier and leader of the Movement for Change and Prosperity (MCAP), Opposition Leader Reuben T. Meade.
This will take place on January 30 2017 when Montserrat votes will attend at the polls.
Her Excellency Elizabeth Carrier the Governor announced the date, during her Press Conference held on November 29, 2016, at the Governor’s Office, in Brades. She indicated she had just signed the Election Writ as per guidelines set by the island’s Constitution after meeting with the Electoral Commission chairman, Sir Howard Fergus.
On January 17, 2017, is carded as Nomination day when persons will declare their candidacy at St. Patrick Co-operative Credit Union Hall in Brades. Several candidates have come forward to formally announce their vie for the vacated seat in the by-election. Such include: Jermaine Wade, Keithroy “DeBEAR” Morson, Victor James and Dr. Samuel Joseph, with no female candidacy in the air.
The Movement for Change and Prosperity (MCAP), announced its candidate in the person of Dr. Samuel Joseph, which forced the expectant Jermaine Wade to declare himself as an independent, an action which caused anger and his dismissal from the party.
There is no commitment on a candidate from the incumbent government People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), but one minister has suggested that the party should not enter a contestant.
