Regis Burton’s Responds to Inconclusive Polls

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Regis Burton has addressed his supporters and the public on Facebook to share his response to two inconclusive polls in the All-Saints West Constituency.

Despite being uncertain about the poll results, Burton remained optimistic and determined after the Prime Minister confirmed to Antigua.News that there will be a run-off vote against his opponent Lamin Newton.

In a statement, Burton expressed his gratitude towards his supporters and stated that the closeness of the race is a clear indication that they are positively making waves.

He believes his campaign has already significantly impacted, having only started this year.

He also mentioned that his team has already started revising their plans and is looking forward to continuously proving why he is the best man for All Saints West.

Despite two recent polls to determine a winner, the Antigua Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) has been unable to fill the position of caretaker for All Saints West.

ABLP Leader Gaston Browne confirmed, however, that a run-off will be held within months to continue the party’s quest.

On March 15, three candidates, Lamin Newton, Regis Burton, and Arry Simon, vied to become their party’s representative for the constituency.

Newton, who had previously served as the constituency’s caretaker for the UPP, received 157 votes, while Burton got 142 and Simon garnered 60 votes.

However, none of the candidates received over 50 percent of the overall vote as per the primary agreement signed by all three candidates.

Therefore, a run-off between the top two candidates was scheduled. Burton raised concerns about the results of the primary and demanded that the agreement be adhered to.

Newton, however, was reportedly not interested in participating in any run-off, and the Executive moved to quash the agreement and conduct the polls to select its next candidate.

Don Anderson and Peter Wickham were selected to conduct these polls. Unfortunately, party sources confirmed that both polls proved to be inconclusive, with both Burton and Newton each emerging as the winner from one of the two polls.

The results were within the margin of error of 5 percent, and both sides only won by 2 percent in the polls.

Prime Minister Gaston Browne commented on the issue, saying that the party would host the run-off contest “maybe in a few months.” ‘

He added that they wanted to allow for a cooling-off period after the hostilities of the first primary, with the hope that there would be less hostilities going into the next primary to make a final determination.

As it stands, the position of the ABLP caretaker for All Saints West remains vacant.

Currently, the United Progressive Party’s (UPP’s) Anthony Smith Jr. represents the constituency in Parliament.