A cabinet minister in the
UWP government, he resigned from cabinet sighting he wants to work for country,
and is seeking re-election in the next General Elections slated for July 26,
2021 as an independent. The story of his campaign is the story of the
challenges plaguing independent candidates in their attempt to convince
citizens to look beyond political parties when they vote.
One reason there are few independent candidates in
St Lucia is that electoral success is elusive for them. From 1997 to 2016, only
one independent won a seat in the House of Assembly. Generally, successful independents
are those running for re-election directly after a severed relationship with a
party. Moreover, party candidates have several benefits that independents do
not have during a campaign.
Although we talk about an election as a single
event, in fact a St Lucian General elections consists of 3 simultaneous local contests. As such, the
local campaign is an important hub of activity during elections. Given the
importance of parties in both legislative and electoral politics, most
candidates in St Lucia are party candidates, nominated to represent a given
party locally. Of the approximately 42 candidates who will run in the 2021 election,
more than 97 percent are party candidates.
Every independent campaign is different and
reflects unique local dynamics, although an independent occasionally attracts
national media attention, as King did when she resigned from the UWP.
Nonetheless, his primary task as an independent is no different from that of
any other candidate: to convince local voters to prioritize the local candidate
over other options.
However, Mr King faces challenges that party
candidates do not. Simply put, political parties matter in St Lucia. The importance of local campaigns
and candidates pales in comparison with that of the national campaign and party
leaders when it comes to voter decisions. Data from the 2016 election reveals
that even though many voters formed a preference for a local candidate, the
candidate was a decisive factor for a small percent of voters island wide.
Parties and their leaders provide important information shortcuts or cues to
voters about ideology and policy positions. Moreover, they command media and
public attention.
The biggest challenge for Stephenson King will be trying to convince his
party voters that he would be able to
represent them effectively by not joining forces with SLP. Parties dominate the
legislative process. An independent campaign needs to communicate consistently
that voters would be well served, even without party backing.
As a “high profile” candidate, King has many
advantages that can help to offset these challenges. First, he was an MP
seeking re-election. Incumbents have name recognition, direct ties to the local
community, resources associated with their position as an office-holder and
potentially a greater ability to raise campaign funds. Moreover, incumbents
have political experience as well as the ability to claim credit for projects
in their ridings. Research has shown that the incumbent have a good
chance of winning compared with a non‐incumbent and they are more likely
to benefit from a personal vote separate from the party or the leader.
As a former minister, King also has a considerable
name recognition, experience and political clout. Moreover, the circumstances
under which he became an independent brought national attention.
In the 1987 election, she was elected as a Member
of Parliament (MP) for the UWP. He was then appointed as a Cabinet Minister,
serving as the Minister for Community Development, Social Affairs, Youth,
Sports, and local Government. He faced
the electorate again in 1992. Following the election he was appointed to the
Cabinet as the Minister for Health, Local Government, Information and
Broadcasting. He would succumb in the
tumultuous defeat of the United Worker's Party in the 1997 election .
Following
a short-lived struggle between himself and Cybelle Cenac for that right King
received the endorsement of the United Workers Party in 2006 to contest the
General Elections as the Candidate for Castries North. He also won. Compton's
illness in May 2007 prompted King to be named Acting Prime Minister. King was subsequently sworn in as Prime
Minister by Governor-General Pearlette Louisy on 9 September.
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| Janine Giraudy |
In a televised address King stated that he will
not contest the St. Lucia 2021 General Election on a UWP ticket but
as an independent candidate. Prime Minister Allen Chastanet accepted
King's resignation on 8 July 2021. He sighted, "So after deep and
profound soul searching, consultations and prayers, and after having spent so
much time, indeed for the past few years, attempting to share my wisdom with my
colleagues to pursue a different brand of politics, I have reached the
inevitable and painful conclusion that I can no longer be part of an
organisation that I can hardly recognise," .
King benefitted not only from nationwide media
attention, but also from the practical advantages that a high-profile candidate
can bring to a campaign: such candidates tend to attract more volunteers and
donations than their counterparts, and King’s campaign was no exception. And yet,
despite these advantages, his bid for re-election remains an uphill battle — a
testament to the difficulty of overcoming the hurdles all independent
candidates face.
His UWP rival, Janine Giraudy (a former president of the
senate) is none other than the daughter of the founding member and past
chairman of the United Workers Party.
