SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Dickon Mitchell, the prime minister of Grenada who has called for slavery reparations and an apology from Britain, secured a second term on Thursday following general elections.
Mitchell, of the National Democratic Congress, secured 14 of 15 seats, or more than 60% of the vote, beating Peter David, a former foreign affairs minister running with the Democratic People’s Movement, according to preliminary results from Grenada's
Parliamentary Elections Office.
Leaders from Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and other nations congratulated Mitchell on his win.
Mitchell has pledged to modernize the island’s economy, strengthen healthcare services and lower youth unemployment.
He and other leaders across the Caribbean have long been pushing for an apology and reparations for slavery from Britain.
In early September, Jamaica took its case for reparations to King Charles III, and the case has since been referred to the United Kingdom’s highest court of appeal for the Caribbean island. It was an unprecedented legal maneuver, even though the British government has consistently rejected demands for either an apology or reparations.
More than 97,000 people were registered to vote in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
Fifteen seats in Grenada’s House of Representatives were up for grabs. The Senate, meanwhile, is composed of 13 appointed members.
Grenada obtained independence in 1974, after being under French and then British rule.
In 1983, the U.S. invaded Grenada after a radical faction executed Marxist Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, three members of his Cabinet and four other people.
While the U.N. and several countries condemned the invasion, Grenada celebrates its anniversary every year on Oct. 25, dubbing it “Thanksgiving Day.”
