{"id":13595,"date":"2018-03-19T13:55:31","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T17:55:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=13595"},"modified":"2018-03-19T14:13:32","modified_gmt":"2018-03-19T18:13:32","slug":"minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/","title":{"rendered":"Minority opposition party wants fixed date for general election"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>

The leader of the minority opposition Democratic National Alliance (DNA) is calling for a fixed date for general elections as voters prepare to cast ballots on Wednesday for a new government in Antigua and Barbuda.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

DNA leader Joanne Messiah, speaking on a radio programme here, said that her party, if elected to office, would move to introduce legislation that would curb the powers of the prime minister to call snap elections.<\/p>\n

\"AB<\/a>\u201cOne of the things that certainly will be priority is the establishment of fixed term elections,\u201d she told radio listeners, adding \u201cI believe the majority of people\u2026want fixed term elections.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>
\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cBecause of the system of government, we follow the Westminster system that does not call for that, certainly that will take a lot of consultation,\u201d she added.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

The DNA, which is fielding candidates in 13 out of the 17 seats at stake in the Parliament, said her party was still confident that it could win the election.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes nine members to form a government, elected first past the post and we have men and women in the DNA whose skills set, talents and experiences both in the government and the private sector speak for themselves.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cBut we also have a wide range of other persons who are members of our party and people in the broader society who we believe possess the requisite skills, who could work in government at a ministerial level,\u201d she told listeners on Observer Radio.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Gaston Browne called the general election more than a year ahead of the constitutional deadline and despite the fact that there are 53 candidates representing seven political parties, political observers say the fight is one between the ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) and the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP).<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n

In the 2014 general election, the ABLP won 14 of the 17 seats with the UPP, which was then in government winning the remaining three seats.<\/p>

\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
\"\"<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The leader of the minority opposition Democratic National Alliance (DNA) is calling for a fixed date for general elections as voters prepare to cast ballots on Wednesday for a new government in Antigua and Barbuda. DNA leader Joanne Messiah, speaking on a radio programme here, said that her party, if elected to office, would move […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nMinority opposition party wants fixed date for general election - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Minority opposition party wants fixed date for general election\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The leader of the minority opposition Democratic National Alliance (DNA) is calling for a fixed date for general elections as voters prepare to cast ballots on Wednesday for a new government in Antigua and Barbuda. DNA leader Joanne Messiah, speaking on a radio programme here, said that her party, if elected to office, would move […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Antigua News Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-03-19T17:55:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-03-19T18:13:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/maxresdefault-8.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\"},\"headline\":\"Minority opposition party wants fixed date for general election\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-19T17:55:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-19T18:13:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/\"},\"wordCount\":325,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/cananewsonline.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/AB-elections.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/\",\"name\":\"Minority opposition party wants fixed date for general election - Antigua News Room\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/cananewsonline.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/AB-elections.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-19T17:55:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-03-19T18:13:32+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/cananewsonline.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/AB-elections.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/cananewsonline.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/AB-elections.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Minority opposition party wants fixed date for general election\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"name\":\"Antigua News Room\",\"description\":\"News As It Happens\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Antigua Newsroom\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg\",\"width\":1260,\"height\":1260,\"caption\":\"Antigua Newsroom\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\",\"name\":\"Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96\",\"caption\":\"Editor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Minority opposition party wants fixed date for general election - Antigua News Room","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Minority opposition party wants fixed date for general election","og_description":"The leader of the minority opposition Democratic National Alliance (DNA) is calling for a fixed date for general elections as voters prepare to cast ballots on Wednesday for a new government in Antigua and Barbuda. DNA leader Joanne Messiah, speaking on a radio programme here, said that her party, if elected to office, would move […]","og_url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/","og_site_name":"Antigua News Room","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","article_published_time":"2018-03-19T17:55:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-03-19T18:13:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/maxresdefault-8.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_site":"@AntiguaNewsRoom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Editor","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/"},"author":{"name":"Editor","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5"},"headline":"Minority opposition party wants fixed date for general election","datePublished":"2018-03-19T17:55:31+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-19T18:13:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/"},"wordCount":325,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/cananewsonline.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/AB-elections.jpg","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/","name":"Minority opposition party wants fixed date for general election - Antigua News Room","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/cananewsonline.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/AB-elections.jpg","datePublished":"2018-03-19T17:55:31+00:00","dateModified":"2018-03-19T18:13:32+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/cananewsonline.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/AB-elections.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/cananewsonline.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/AB-elections.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minority-opposition-party-wants-fixed-date-for-general-election\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Minority opposition party wants fixed date for general election"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","name":"Antigua News Room","description":"News As It Happens","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization","name":"Antigua Newsroom","url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:1080\/h:1080\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1584.jpeg","width":1260,"height":1260,"caption":"Antigua Newsroom"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom","https:\/\/x.com\/AntiguaNewsRoom","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/antiguanewsroom\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5","name":"Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=96","caption":"Editor"},"url":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/author\/editor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13595\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/anr-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}