At a celebratory thanksgiving service held by the United Progressive Party (UPP) All Saints East and St. Luke branch for Jamale Pringle’s recent electoral victory, senior party figure Senator Malaka Parker framed the win as far more than a simple retention of a single parliamentary seat — instead, she positioned it as a symbol of enduring hope and unbroken resilience for the island nation’s main opposition movement.
Parker opened her address by urging attendees not to dismiss the importance of holding just one seat in Antigua and Barbuda’s legislative body, drawing on personal childhood memories to ground her argument. Growing up in the Grace Farm community during the era when former Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer served as the only opposition parliamentarian in the chamber, Parker said she witnessed firsthand the unyielding determination of Spencer and his grassroots supporters through years of political adversity. That small, persistent presence, she argued, was the initial flicker that would eventually grow into the larger opposition movement the UPP represents today.
Popularly dubbed the “Single Pringle” campaign in reference to Pringle holding the party’s only parliamentary seat, Parker said the victory carries a far deeper ideological meaning rooted in the power of unified purpose. “Oneness is powerful,” she emphasized. “You are representing again this movement — a profound movement of resilient people.” Parker grew visibly emotional throughout her speech as she recognized long-time UPP backers in the crowd, many of whom she has known since her early childhood.
Parker made clear that the win sends a clear message about the political consciousness of Antiguans and Barbudans, stating: “I want to say that Jamal, your election represents hope. It is a testament to the fact that Antiguans and Barbudans are still awake.” She also alleged that organized efforts have been underway across the country to destabilize the opposition’s core mission, vision, and collective spirit, but struck a defiant tone in response. Echoing longstanding opposition rhetoric, she repeatedly vowed: “We will not retreat, and we will not surrender.” Looking ahead, she said the party would leverage Pringle’s victory as a starting point for broader change, noting “We’re going to use this spark that is the Honorable Jamal represents, and we will light the flame.”
Turning to the UPP’s strategic path forward, Parker argued that the party must immediately shift into a phase of rebuilding and outreach, rather than limiting its discourse to closed internal conversations with loyal supporters. “We cannot be a church talking to ourselves,” she said, urging members to tear down barriers and expand their base by connecting with new voters across the country.
To illustrate the party’s ongoing educational mission, Parker invoked the legacy of 19th-century American abolitionist Harriet Tubman, framing her as a historic symbol of resistance and political consciousness-building. She referenced Tubman’s famous quote that she “could have freed more people if they knew they were slaves,” using the analogy to argue that the UPP’s core responsibility is to educate and re-educate voters across Antigua and Barbuda. “We are on a mission to free people, build the awareness, to re-educate,” she said. “The mission continues.”
Closing her remarks, Parker extended formal congratulations to Pringle on his re-election, and highlighted a young party supporter named Jonathan as an example of the next generation of UPP leadership, calling him “the future of the UPP.”