For the first time in the 72-year history of Saint Lucia’s National Carnival Queen pageant, two contestants have walked away with the crown – a historic outcome that has sparked public conversation and prompted organizers to launch a full review of the event’s competition rules.
In an official statement released Monday, the Carnival Planning & Management Committee (CPMC) laid out a detailed breakdown of how the unprecedented joint win came together, addressing widespread public questions that emerged after Saturday’s surprise final result. The dual winners are Nyaley Lewis, representing the Bank of Saint Lucia, and Faith Edward, the contestant from the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority. Both candidates finished the competition with identical final scores, a deadlock that had never occurred in the event’s seven-decade history.
The CPMC explained that the 2024 pageant was adjudicated by a panel of nine judges, split between six local experts and three regional specialists. Each judge was assigned to score only the competition segments that aligned with their specific areas of expertise, a framework designed to keep scoring objective and specialized. All scores were submitted digitally through certified, pre-vetted judging software, and the final results were sent to the Office of the Director of Audit for full independent verification before any announcement was made. The audit process definitively confirmed that Lewis and Edward had matching final scores.
Once judges complete their scoring, no post-scoring deliberation is permitted under current pageant rules. The CPMC noted that this policy is intentionally structured as a safeguard, designed to eliminate any room for bias, external influence, or last-minute adjustments that could compromise the fairness of the result.
After the dual win was announced, many members of the public questioned why a tie-break mechanism was not activated to select a single winner. In response, the organizing committee confirmed that the pageant’s official rulebook has never included a tie-break provision for first place. For 72 years, a first-place tie had never happened, so the rule was never added. The CPMC emphasized that introducing a tie-breaker after scores had already been fully audited and verified would have undermined the integrity and impartiality of the entire competition process.
“ The only outcome consistent with the verified scores and the existing rules was to declare both delegates National Carnival Queen, ” the statement from the committee read.
In a break with tradition that matches the historic outcome, both queens will receive the full standard winner’s package. This includes a $25,000 cash prize, a fully funded academic scholarship, and an all-expenses-paid cruise vacation. The CPMC stressed that the 2024 result is final and will not be revisited or revised.
At the same time, the committee acknowledged that the unprecedented deadlock exposed a gap in the event’s governing rules, and confirmed that a formal review of competition policies has already begun. Any necessary rule updates, including the addition of a clear tie-break provision, will be published publicly well ahead of the next National Carnival Queen pageant to ensure that contestants, judges, and the general public have full clarity on the procedures that will govern future competitions.