ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC -A senior advisor to the leader of the main opposition United Progressive Party (UPP), Dr. McChesney McEmanuel, says the party had its own data that showed it would have lost the May 30 general election.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne had called the polls nearly two years ahead of the constitutional deadline and led his ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labor Party (ABLP) to a commanding 15-2 victory, reversing the 9-8 results it had achieved in the January 2023 general election.
UPP leader Jamale Pringle was the lone winner for the party, with the other seat going to the Barbuda People’s Movement (BPM).
McEmanuel, who served as advisor to Pringle, said that a poll commissioned before the election had shown the party in serious trouble. Jamaican pollster Don Anderson conducted the poll, and McEmanuel said the findings were significant. Listen to audio
“And there are two issues that the respondents were actually focused on, focusing on, I mean, apart from inflation and infrastructure, but regarding the parties themselves, the UPP issues of leadership and experience did actually bring through very high, 80 percent and 75 percent, respectively.
“Comparing Jamal Pringle and Harold Lovell, Harold Lovell was leading by four points, 27 to 31, and so in my view, I said, looking at this poll and understanding what the prevailing sentiments would have been at least unscientifically in the public domain, that Jamal Pringle was not ready to lead the party and to become prime minister,” McEmanuel said.
He said he tried at first to rally support around Pringle, but as the election drew closer, he took his concerns directly to the leader.
“Meetings were held with Harold Lovell between him and Pringle, and it did not go well. And we were getting close, even though the election wasn’t called. I met with Jamal, and I said, listen, I’m seeing this where Harold is four points ahead of you. And then when you look at the issue of leadership and experience, I said it may be a good idea for you to sit this one out, step aside, and let Harold lead the party going forward.
“We may not win the election, but at least, given the scientific results that I’m seeing, it may give the organization a better chance of having a better showing,” McEmanuel said, noting that the party had a decision to make and that their answer left him with one of his own.
“He disagreed, and his people decided, well, they indicated that they were not prepared to have Jim Pringle step aside. I decided, following his advice, to come from the general council and the central executive, but I continue to support the party.
“I’m saying that there were so many issues that the party had to deal with internally. It means the party’s ability to go forward in a very cohesive, focused, and determined way actually to go to the party,” he added.
Pringle had replaced Lovell as the UPP leader following the party’s narrow defeat in the 2023 general election. He was elected as the new political leader on April 21, 2024.
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