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Thank You
Submitted by Baldwin Spencer on 13 March 2009 - 9:50am
Thank you.
Thank you for attending our rallies, marches and whistle stops. Thank you for volunteering at the Command Centre and in your constituency. Thank you for your kind words of support. Thank you for your prayers. And, thank you for your votes.
We are humbled to have received this mandate from you to keep our country moving on the right track and headed in the right direction.
Thank you once again from the bottom of my heart.
All Polls Open
Submitted by UPP Team on 12 March 2009 - 12:27pm
All polling stations across Antigua & Barbuda are now open.
You have until 6:00 pm to vote. If you are in line by 6:00 pm, you will be allowed to vote.
FIND OUT WHERE TO VOTE ONLINE!
REQUEST A RIDE TO THE POLLS! CALL YOUR CONSTITUENCY OFFICE!
Watch this video to learn what happens at the polling station:
If you have any more questions about the voting process or need a ride to the polls, don't hesitate to call the UPP hotline at 562-7970.
Breaking! Polling Stations Open Late; Some Still Not Open
Submitted by UPP Team on 12 March 2009 - 9:19am
Update (12:26 pm):
All polling stations across the country are now open! If you are in line by 6:00 pm, you will be allowed to vote.
Update (12:01 pm):
All polling stations in St. Mary's North are now open, six hours late.
The only polling station that remains closed is the Greenbay Primary School in Rural West.
All other polling stations in Antigua & Barbuda are open and operational. All polling stations close at 6:00 pm. If you are in line by 6:00 pm will be allowed to vote.
Update (11:41 am):
All polling stations in St. Peter are now open, nearly 6 hours late.
The only polling stations that remain closed are the Moravian Church Conference Centre in St. Mary's North and the Greenbay Primary School in Rural West.
Update (11:08 am):
The Wesleyan Holiness Church Basement on Browns Avenue is now open in St. Mary's North. Moravian Church Conference Centre in Cashew Hill remains closed.
There are still select polling stations at the Greenbay Primary School in Rural West, Moravian Church Conference Centre in St. Mary's North and Parham Primary School in St. Peter that remain closed over 5 hours into scheduled start of polling.
All other polling stations in Antigua & Barbuda are open and operational.
Update (11:01 am):
All polling stations in St. George are now open.
Select polling stations in Rural West, St. Mary's North and St. Peter remain closed over 5 hours into scheduled start of polling.
Update (10:48 am):
All polling stations in Rural South are now open.
Select polling stations in Rural West, St. George, St. Mary's North and St. Peter remain closed nearly 5 hours into the polling.
Update (10:42 am):
3 of 5 polling divisions are open at Potters in St. George. Bendals in St. Mary's North is now open.
Update (10:30 am)
Polling Districts A, C & D in Rural West are fully operational. Miss Generlette Bldg, Five Islands School and Multipurpose Centre are fully operational.
Greenbay Primary School remains closed 4 1/2 hours after it was scheduled to open.
We appeal to the Electoral Commission in the strongest possible terms to open the polling places immediately so that the people can exercise their right to vote.
To the citizenry, we ask that you remain patient and calm. You will not be disenfrancised so long as you are in line by 6:00 pm tonight.
Update (10:15 am)
We're now receiving reports that Golden Grove in Rural South is not yet open, 4 hours and 15 minutes into the process. Select polling locations in Rural South, Rural West, St. George, St. Mary's North and St. Peter remain closed 4 hours and 15 minutes into the process. We will update you on this blog and on Crusader Radio as informatin becomes available.
Update (10:10 am)
Electoral Commission claims Potter's Primary School in St. George will be open in "15 minutes."
Update (9:50 am):
Polling stations just opened at Bendals Clinic (Polling District B) in St. Mary's North. Nearly four hours late. Some polling stations still not operational.
Update (9:35 am):
At the Parham Primary School in St. Peter, only one of the polling stations is open. Four Stations have not yet opened.
Update (9:30 am):
We just received news that the Five Islands and Greenbay polling locations in St. John's Rural West is not yet open 3 1/2 hours into the voting.
We appeal to the Electoral Commission in the strongest terms to open these polling locations immediately to ensure that the people of Antigua & Barbuda can exercise their franchise.
Update (9:20 am):
The Electoral Commission reports that the St. Mary's North polling locations not yet open "will be open in 20 minutes." This includes the not yet open polling locations at Bendals Clinic, Wesleyan Holiness Church Basement and the Moravian Conference Center.
We call on the Electoral Commission to open these polling locations immediately. We ask voters for their patience and remind them that they must be in line by 6:00 pm to vote.
Original Post
Polling stations across Antigua & Barbuda opened late. Some opened significantly after the scheduled 6:00 am open time. Some still aren't open as of 9:15 am.
Over three hours into the voting, we're receiving reports that only one polling station in St. Mary's North is open (Polling District A). All other polling districts remain closed in St. Mary's North.
We're also receiving reports that there are major problems in St. Peter's. There is only one polling station open at the Parham Primary School.
We call upon the Electoral Commission to rectify this situation immediately.
Please report any problems at the polls in the comments.
Developing...
Vote Solidly UPP - Polls are Open 6:00 am to 6:00 pm
Submitted by UPP Team on 12 March 2009 - 12:02am
Voting for the UPP is fast, easy and simple.
Justice Day (Election Day) is today, Thursday, March 12, 2009. Voting takes place from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. You have a right to get 4 hours off to go and vote.
You must bring your Electoral Commission issued voter identification card with you to vote. You must not wear any UPP clothing to the polls.
FIND OUT WHERE TO VOTE ONLINE!
REQUEST A RIDE TO THE POLLS! CALL YOUR CONSTITUENCY OFFICE!
Watch this video to learn what happens at the polling station:
If you have any more questions about the voting process or need a ride to the polls, don't hesitate to call the UPP hotline at 562-7970.
Remember, early out and vote to keep them out! Vote solidly UPP.
There's one last thing we need you to do. Pick up the phone and call at least 5 people. Encourage them to vote UPP. It's now or never. The power is in our hands to ensure that justice is done.
A Special Address to the Nation by Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer
Submitted by UPP Team on 11 March 2009 - 8:04pm
Tonight, Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer addressed the people of Antigua & Barbuda in advance of the general election.
He spoke of the UPP's accomplishments in the last five years. In 2004, Antigua & Barbuda was a failed state and a rogue nation. We inherited a country in crisis and delivered for the people. We stopped the economic free fall, passed a trio of good government reforms, and eased the financial squeeze on our seniors. We paid our workers, we increased pensions, we started School Meals and School Uniforms. We gave hope and opportunity to our youth. And, we grew the economy.
Prime Minister Spencer also believes in our plans for the future. Our Power to the People plan gives you the ownership of, control over and the ability to profit from companies that serve our country. We also will deliver the University of Antigua & Barbuda which will give our youth the education they need to create opportunities to build better lives for themselves and their families. There's so much more. Read Defending the Nation
Prime Minister Spencer also spoke of the opposition and the self serving formula for chaos they offer. They have not changed at all. They're the same party and the same people that took our country to fiscal anarchy and caused the people to wholeheartedly reject them in 2004. We can't turn back the clock.
The entire front line of the ALP leadership are defendants in court matters questioning their integrity and of accusations of corruption.
But, that's not all. During this campaign, the ALP used demonic images, called our church leaders "wicked" and "evil," they called our country to be divided into tribes and they called for "blood to flow in the streets." Not a single ALP politician condemned any of those actions. A vote for the ALP is a vote to give power to the discredited and ethically challenged ALP leadership.
The choice between the UPP and the ALP is as clear as the choice between good and evil. Make the right choice.
Watch Part I
Watch Part II
Our Prayer
Submitted by Baldwin Spencer on 11 March 2009 - 6:08pm
As we go to the polls in our first General Election since Independence in which the government is not an extension of the Bird dynasty, the eyes of the world are again on Antigua and Barbuda; as they were in March, 2004; when it seemed that all in CARICOM and the wider international community of nations were waiting for the Bird regime to fall.
Antigua and Barbuda was, at that time, a failed state and a rogue nation in the perception of donor countries and international organisations, agencies and institutions.
Though the United Progressive Party inherited a country in crisis, we swiftly proceeded to demonstrate the manifest capacity to surmount the toughest challenges confronting our nation.
In surprisingly short order, the UPP was able to stop the slide; introduce new standards of governance; ignite a surge of pride in the hearts of the people of our nation; ease the economic squeeze on the middle class and the vulnerable; win local and international investor confidence; transform tourism; restructure the economy; give hope to our nation’s youth; unleash the entrepreneurial spirit and enterprise of the Antiguan and Barbudan people; and generate sustained economic growth, with full employment.
The country is now caught in the vortex of the current global economic turbulence; a circumstance exacerbated by the collapse of the Stanford empire. This alone makes leadership the central issue in tomorrow’s elections.
The United Progressive Party offers tried and tested leadership you can trust; leadership that has operated on the unchanging credo of putting people first. The opposition, on the other hand, offers the nation a hydra-headed self-serving leadership aberration that is a formula for chaos, especially since it comprises the same failed and discredited group that took the country to fiscal anarchy and universal disgrace; all are defendants in court matters involving questions of integrity while they held high public office.
We now have among us observer teams from CARICOM, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the Organisation of American States, who are in the country in response to the invitation I extended during the CARICOM Summit, here in St. John’s, last July; which I publicly reiterated on several subsequent occasions; and which I formally confirmed in writing in early January.
I am confident that all in our country are hopeful that after the votes are counted, and the results declared, the judgment of the observer teams, and the world, will be that our General Election was free and fair, peaceful and free from fear, it’s conduct a model in the exercise of democracy; and that the results accurately reflect the collective will of the Antiguan and Barbudan people.
Let that be our prayer.
Lester Bird Caught Lying... AGAIN!
Submitted by UPP Team on 11 March 2009 - 4:02pm
First, Lester Bird did a 180 and went back on his promises to illegal immigrants. Then, Lester lied about creating a telecommunications monopoly. But, that's not the worst of it. Lester Bird's ALP's first manifesto was so chock full of lies that they had to go back on all those promises by releasing a second manifesto!
Well, Lester Bird, is lying again! Today's Observer reports:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has denied that it is making demands on the Baldwin Spencer administration to implement an austerity programme for the country.
The IMF's mission chief for Antigua & Barbuda, Guy Meredith, yesterday dismissed the charge made by the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) Leader Lester Bird...
The man in charge of the IMF in Antigua & Barbuda called Lester a liar. And, Lester stubbornly stood by his lie. Despicable.
You have the power to send a clear message to these liars. Justice must be done tomorrow.
Breaking! Asot Michael Under Criminal Inquiry
Submitted by UPP Team on 11 March 2009 - 11:40am
Asot Michael is under police investigation for stealing US$3.2 million from the people of Antigua & Barbuda. Dubbed a "gigantic conspiracy," this revelation comes after Bruce Rappaport, the ALP's partner in crime, settled a related lawsuit and reimbursed the people of Antigua & Barbuda for money he fleeced from us. The Guardian reports:
The government of Antigua has begun criminal inquiries into large payments discovered in Isle of Man bank accounts controlled by Antiguan politicians...
According to documents seen by the Guardian, HSBC bank, in the Isle of Man, accepted $3.2m (£2.3m) on behalf of Asot Michael, once chief of staff to the former Antigua prime minister Lester Bird...
Another $1.4m in total was paid into HSBC Manx accounts belonging to a former Antiguan high commissioner in London, Sir Ronald Sanders.
The cash under investigation came via an Israeli businessman, Bruce Rappaport, who is alleged to have diverted Antiguan funds into his own pocket while making payments to local politicians.
The authorities are closing in on Asot Michael and the corrupt ALP cabal.
Tomorrow, you have the power to deliver justice. A vote for the ALP is a vote for corruption. A vote for the UPP is a vote for justice.
Justice must be done.
Update (3:49):
Justice must be done, lest wickedness reign:
