General election called in St Lucia for December 1, months ahead of when polls were due

CASTRIES, St Lucia, CMC – St Lucians will go to the polls on December 1 to elect a new government, 11 months before the general election is constitutionally due in November 2026.

Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre, in a radio and television broadcast, said that he had already advised the Governor General, Errol Charles, to dissolve the Parliament on Monday and that Nomination Day will be November 21.

Pierre said that the last election was on July 26, 2021, and the parliament met in August of that year.

He said under the St Lucia Constitution, the election is constitutionally due “for the latest three months after the first sitting of Parliament, which was held on 12th August 2021.

“Confident that we have delivered what we have promised and the need to carry on the normal business of government, today I advised the Governor General to dissolve the Parliament of St Lucia, tomorrow, Monday 10th November, and to issue writs of elections to pave the way for the general election,” Pierre said.

In an immediate response, the leader of the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP), Allen Chastanet, wrote on his Facebook page “The bell has finally been rung. Freedom Day is December 1st 2025- We are ready”.

One prospective UWP candidate welcomed the announcement, telling party supporters, “This year, I certainly will wish you a Merry Christmas. It will come early from December 1 this year.

“Time to celebrate our freedom,” he added.

Chastanet, who is leading UWP into another general election, will attempt to reverse the 13-4 defeat the party suffered in the July 26, 2021 general election, when two former UWP members, including former prime minister Stevenson King, successfully won seats as independent candidates and later supported the ruling St Lucia Labour Party (SLP) government during the four and half year period.

They are both expected to contest the December 1 poll.

In a near 12-minute address, Pierre, who will lead the SLP into a general election for the second consecutive occasion, said he was asking the electorate to “judge us on our record.”

He said since coming to office in 2021, the island’s economy has improved significantly with the level of debt in 2024 is 73.5 per cent, a reduction of eight per cent in 2021 with outstanding payable due to local suppliers 79 per cent, a reduction of 39 per cent.

“As of September 2025, outstanding payables are 38.9 million, a 700 per cent reduction from 2021, “Pierre said, adding that his administration had concluded negotiations with public servants as well as providing a Christmas bonus.

“Ladies and gentlemen, these statistics clearly show the level of debt inherited by the St Lucia Labour Party government and the progress made so far. Together, we built an economy that was in decline, we have experienced economic growth and primary surpluses,” Pierre said, adding, “we are steadfast in making St. Lucia a better place.

“As a government, we have delivered on our promise to put you, the people, first,” he said.

Both the SLP and the UWP held political rallies on Sunday, with the ruling party at the traditional site of the market steps in the capital, Castries, while the UWP was in the western town of Anse La Raye.

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