New Democratic Party (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
President	Godwin Friday
Chairperson	Dr. Linton Lewis
Founded	3 December 1975
Headquarters	Democrat House, Kingstown
Ideology	Conservatism; Pro-Commonwealth
Political position	Centre-right
Regional affiliation	Caribbean Democrat Union
International affiliation	International Democrat Union
Seats in the House of Assembly	6 / 15
Website
	https://www.ndpsvg.com/
	Politics of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Political parties; Elections;

The New Democratic Party (NDP) is a moderate conservative political party in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The party is led by Godwin Friday,^[1] ^[2] and is currently the official opposition in the House of Assembly.

History

The New Democratic Party was founded in Kingstown, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, on 3 December 1975. Its first leader was James Fitz-Allen Mitchell, commonly referred to by his peers as "Son Mitchell".

In 1979, the New Democratic Party contested the general elections and won two seats in the then 13-seat parliament.

Five years later the NDP won with nine of the thirteen seats, making Mitchell the country’s second Prime Minister. By way of a by-election, when then Labour Party leader Hon. Robert Milton Cato closed the last chapter of his political book; the NDP gained an additional seat advantage.

So far, the NDP has been the first and only political party in St. Vincent & the Grenadines to have won all the seats in a national election, doing so in 1989.

The development of the banana and tourism industries have been among the major pillars of economic development for St. Vincent & the Grenadines, spearheaded by the New Democratic Party.

When Sir James Mitchell departed elective politics, the Hon. Arnhim Ulric Eustace was elected President of the NDP and took over as the third Prime Minister. He served as Leader of the Parliamentary Opposition from 2001 to 2016. Under Eustace’s leadership the NDP grew and became more democratic with the Central Executive and party delegates more involved in the election and selection of the Executive Members of the party.

In 2016, NDP leader Arnhim Eustace resigned and since, the party has been led by Godwin Friday.

Electoral history

House of Assembly elections

Election	Party leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Position	Result
1979	James Mitchell	9,022	27.4%	2 / 13	2	2nd	Opposition
1984		21,700	51.4%	9 / 13	7	1st	Majority government
1989		29,079	66.3%	15 / 15	6	1st	Supermajority government
1994		25,789	54.9%	12 / 15	3	1st	Supermajority government
1998		23,258	45.4%	8 / 15	4	1st	Majority government
2001	Arnhim Eustace	23,844	40.9%	3 / 15	5	2nd	Opposition
2005		25,748	44.68%	3 / 15		2nd	Opposition
2010		30,568	48.67%	7 / 15	4	2nd	Opposition
2015		31,027	47.37%	7 / 15		2nd	Opposition
2020	Godwin Friday	32,847	50.34%	6 / 15	1	2nd	Opposition