In a defiant concession speech delivered on Saturday, former St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves declared his Unity Labour Party (ULP) remains politically viable despite suffering a crushing electoral defeat that ended their 25-year governance. The New Democratic Party (NDP) secured a commanding victory, capturing 14 of the 15 parliamentary seats in Thursday’s general election.
Gonsalves, who previously served as Opposition Leader from 1998 to 2001, announced he would resume that role but offered no direct congratulations to Prime Minister-designate Dr. Godwin Friday or the NDP. Instead, he delivered a stark warning to the incoming administration, suggesting their triumph marked the beginning of their eventual decline.
“At this very height of the NDP’s triumphalism, it is the moment of the start of their descent,” Gonsalves proclaimed. “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.”
The veteran politician pledged to lead the opposition with “dignity, duty and love,” emphasizing his readiness to confront political challenges. “Please be assured that the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid; it is my lot to accept, indeed prefer, a strenuous life to one of ignoble ease,” he stated.
Gonsalves outlined immediate plans to convene the ULP’s collective leadership on Sunday to select two senatorial appointments. While acknowledging the opposition would be “routinely out-voted” due to the NDP’s overwhelming majority, he promised to maintain high parliamentary standards and indicated the party would focus on internal renewal ahead of the next scheduled election in 2030.
“Renewal, rebuilding, is sweet. Indeed, it is the sweetest of life’s experiences,” Gonsalves reflected. “And within and outside the Labour family, there is abundant material, some even hidden or submerged, which is available for renewal.”