Following the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party’s (ABLP) historic fourth consecutive decisive election victory, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has rejected calls for complacency, pledging to steer his new administration with heightened accountability and a renewed commitment to public service. Browne made the remarks during a national thanksgiving service held Sunday at St. John’s Pentecostal Church House of Restoration, where he addressed a gathered crowd of party supporters, religious leaders, and sitting government officials.
Browne emphasized that the party’s resounding electoral success is not an unearned reward, but a renewed public mandate to deliver more faithful, effective governance to the people of the dual-island nation. “We do not see this resounding victory as a gift,” he told attendees. “We do not see it as the opportunity to be slothful or for that matter to abuse public resources.”
Instead of resting on the party’s past achievements accumulated over nearly 12 years in power, Browne said his administration views the new mandate as a opening to strengthen governance frameworks and expand efforts to economic and social empowerment for all citizens. “We see this as an opportunity to serve you more faithfully, to provide even better governance than we provided during the last approximately 12 years,” he added.
Looking back on the weeks-long election campaign, the prime minister extended gratitude to every candidate, grassroots supporter, and the group he called “prayer warriors” – faith leaders and congregants who prayed for peaceful electoral processes and the ABLP’s success. He acknowledged that the party faced significant headwinds during the campaign, including widespread misinformation, deliberate disinformation, false claims, and targeted character assassination of party members, but maintained the ABLP remained focused on its core mission of delivering progress for all Antiguans and Barbudans.
Browne also used the high-profile post-election event to issue a call for cross-partisan and cross-community national unity, arguing that deep-seated political divisions should not shape the country’s trajectory going forward. “So let us not move forward as different political institutions, different religious denominations, but as reborn Antiguans and Barbudans who are working harmoniously to build this country,” he said.
The thanksgiving service itself blended traditional Christian worship, formal scripture readings, and deliberate political reflection. Throughout the event, church ministers and senior faith leaders repeatedly centered their remarks on the themes of collective gratitude, committed public service, and national renewal ahead of the new parliamentary term.