BRIDGETOWN (Reuters) - Barbados elected its first female prime minister as the opposition inflicted a crushing defeat on the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP), winning all the seats in the Caribbean island’s parliament, election results showed on Friday.

Mia Mottley’s victory in Thursday’s elections returns the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) to power on the island of some 285,000 people for the first time in a decade.

The Electoral and Boundaries Commission said the BLP had elected all 30 members of the parliament, delivering the first clean sweep in the history of the legislature. The DLP had previously held a slim majority with 16 seats.

“This victory is the people of Barbados’ victory,” Mottley, 52, told supporters outside the BLP’s Bridgetown headquarters early on Friday, calling the result a vote for a more inclusive and transparent kind of leadership for Barbados.

“This must be our legacy to the people of Barbados: to give you back your government and your governance,” said Mottley, a former minister and attorney general who was sworn in later on Friday.

The result means the Barbadian House of Assembly is without an official opposition, despite the fact that an unprecedented 135 candidates ran for office across nine parties.

Outgoing Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, who had served since 2010, congratulated Mottley, conceding that the DLP had suffered an “overwhelming defeat.”

“In campaigning, whenever there is success, success is shared by all those who succeed and by those with whom they are associated, but when there is failure, failure points to one man,” he told reporters at his party headquarters.

“I think that there was some hurt in the society in respect of some of the decisions that had to be made.”

The U.S. State Department issued a statement commending Mottley’s “stated intent to address fiscal transparency” and saying the United States looked forward to working with Barbados to enhance economic partnerships and private sector investment.

The Barbadian economy has struggled since a sharp contraction in 2009 after the global financial crisis.

Weak growth has put strains on Barbados’ public debt, pressuring foreign exchange reserves and helping to spark repeated downgrades of the island’s credit rating.

The DLP’s economic record dogged Stuart in the campaign. Many voters expressed frustration at the party’s failure to reduce debt and the cost of living even as their taxes rose.</s>Mia Mottley of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) has been elected as the first female Prime Minister of Barbados.

Her party unseated the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) in a landslide victory on Thursday.

The DLP had been governing Barbados since 2008.

In the crushing victory, the Mottley-led BLP won all 30 seats in the Barbados House of Assembly.

Mottley, 52, becomes Barbados’ eight Prime Minister and the fifth female head of government in the English speaking the Caribbean joining the likes of the late Dame Eugenia Charles of Dominica, Janet Jagan of Guyana, Portia Simpson Miller in Jamaica and Kamla Persad Bissessar in Trinidad and Tobago.</s>The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) will form the next government, led by its first female prime minister, and based on unofficial results, it will do so without any official opposition.

Counting continued into the early hours of this morning, but Democratic Labour Party (DLP) leader Freundel Stuart conceded defeat and the BLP’s Roebuck Street headquarters erupted in celebration as prime minister-designate Mia Mottley, the island’s first female leader, delivered her victory speech just before 4 a.m.

While the 52-year-old Mottley acknowledged there would be celebration, she said it was not a time to gloat but to unite the country to take it forward, and she reiterated her commitment to keeping the BLP’s campaign promises.

Pointing out that today was pay day, she told jubilant supporters that she wanted to give Barbadians a “thanksgiving celebration” this weekend.

She announced that all schools would be closed today, and that with the exception of supermarkets and banks, she had advised businesses to close at 1 p.m.

Mottley said a Cabinet will be appointed by Monday.</s>BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (Reuters) - The opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) won a landslide victory in Barbados’ general election, winning every seat and ushering in the country’s first female prime minister, preliminary results showed on Friday.

The BLP’s Mia Mottley won all 30 seats in the Caribbean island’s parliament, according to the Electoral and Boundaries Commission, dealing a crushing defeat to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and his Democratic Labour Party (DLP).

Mottley, a former minister and attorney general, will become the first female prime minister since independence from Britain in 1966.</s>The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) will form the next government, led by its first female prime minister, and based on unofficial results, it will do so without any official opposition.

The BLP demolished the DIP, taking all 30 seats, resulting in the country being without a parliamentary opposition.

Counting continued into the early hours of this morning, but Democratic Labour Party (DLP) leader Freundel Stuart conceded defeat and the BLP’s Roebuck Street headquarters erupted in celebration as prime minister-designate Mia Mottley, the island’s first female leader, delivered her victory speech just before 4 a.m.

While the 52-year-old Mottley acknowledged there would be celebration, she said it was not a time to gloat but to unite the country to take it forward, and she reiterated her commitment to keeping the BLP’s campaign promises.

Pointing out that today was pay day, she told jubilant supporters that she wanted to give Barbadians a “thanksgiving celebration” this weekend.

She announced that all schools would be closed today, and that with the exception of supermarkets and banks, she had advised businesses to close at 1 p.m.

Mottley said a Cabinet will be appointed by Monday.

The crushing victory for the BLP means that its political leader Mia Amor Mottley will be sworn in as Barbados’ first female Prime Minister since the country gained independence from Britain in 1966.

Mottley, 52, becomes Barbados’ eight Prime Minister and the fifth female head of government in the English speaking the Caribbean joining the likes of the late Dame Eugenia Charles of Dominica, Janet Jagan of Guyana, Portia Simpson Miller in Jamaica and Kamla Persad Bissessar in Trinidad and Tobago.</s>Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Professor Rosemarie Bell Antoine says she sense that Barbadians would have voted for a change of government due to the serious economic challenges facing the country at this time.

Media reports say preliminary figures showed that the opposition Barbados Labour Party was ahead of the incumbent Democratic Labour Party in all thirty constituencies as Mia Mottley moved closer to becoming the first woman to head a government in that country.

Speaking on the State of the Nation Programme on Power 102.1fm this afternoon Professor Bell Antoine said she was not surprised with the historic and resounding win by the BLP with even the Prime Minister Freundel Stewart losing his own seat.

She also commented on how Ms. Mottley conducted herself in a dignified way in spite of the many criticisms that came her way and expressed confidence that she will be able to take Barbados thorough these tough times.</s>(Barbados Nation) Mia Amor Mottley is now the Prime Minister-elect of Barbados.

The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) leader and her team romped home to an unprecedented 30-nil victory at the polls last night, with a punishing defeat of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP).

The BLP’s poll party started just before midnight at its Roebuck Street, St Michael headquarters where thousands of supporters danced and sang throughout the wee hours of this morning, forcing police to block off the street to vehicular traffic.

“This is not my victory. This is not the Labour Party’s victory. This is the people of Barbados’ victory,” Mottley told a jam-packed Roebuck Street in her victory speech, before thanking her family, campaign manager Jerome Walcott, and consultants Dr Clyde Mascoll and Lucille Moe for the sacrifices they made in the campaign.

At around 3:40 a.m., Mottley officially acknowledged the concession speech of outgoing Prime Minister Freundel Stuart.

She had earlier in the night cemented her personal victory in the St Michael North East constituency, easily beating former MP for Bridgetown, Patrick Todd.

But this was a party win all the way, with the DLP amazingly losing in its major stronghold, St John, for the first time since it had been contesting that seat in 1958, and other powerhouse constituencies such as St Philip North, St Philip West, St Michael North West and St Lucy.

For the three-week campaign there had been noticeably heavy support for the Bees at political meetings, and that manifested in former MPs such as Michael Lashley, Dr David Estwick, Chris Sinckler, Ronald Jones and Denis Kellman, all comfortable winners last time out in 2013, becoming victims of a massive national swing.

A humble Mottley thanked Barbados for the historic win, which became clear just after midnight, after the late arrival of numerous special ballot boxes at polling stations across the island.

“I have seen in my colleagues a level of commitment and sacrifice,” she added, while paying special tribute to party chairman George Payne for helping show the unity developed in the Best For Barbados team which included 20 new candidates.

“There should be no time for gloating. We are all one people. We are Barbadians,” she said to loud applause. “We will need many hands to help make light work. We will rebuild Barbados together.

“We have to get to the task immediately,” Mottley said, adding mission No. 1 was to reduce the fiscal deficit, and that she wanted a Cabinet in place by Monday.

Stuart signalled his retirement from elective politics, but indicated the Dems would definitely bounce back.

“We suffered a similar defeat in 1999. We rebounded from that and I expect us to rebound from this,” he said around 3:15 a.m. in his concession speech.

Stuart also accepted blame for the loss, saying it was on him “unequivocally”, but adding the DLP had more than enough talent to lead it back to elective prominence.</s>(CMC) — Less than 24 hours after she led her Barbados Labour Party (BLP) to victory in the May 24 general election, Mia Amor Mottley, 52, was sworn in as Barbados’ eighth prime minister on Friday, joining a handful of Caribbean women who have lead governments in their respective countries.

Mottley, who first entered local politics in 1991, when she lost the St Michael North East constituency to Leroy Brathwaite, took the oath of office before Governor General Sandra Mason and in the presence of family, friends and party supporters.

Attorney Dale Marshall also took the oath of office as Attorney General.

Mottley, who between 1994 and 2008, held a succession of ministerial portfolios, led the BLP to a whitewash of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), winning all 30 seats in the Parliament.

Mottley was the first female to be appointed attorney general and minister of home affairs in 2001 and is also the youngest ever Queen’s Counsel in Barbados.

Two years later, she served as the island’s second female Deputy Prime Minister and following the BLP’s defeat in the 2008 election and Owen Arthur’s resignation as party leader, Mottley was chosen as BLP party leader on January, 19, 2008.

She also served as the first female opposition leader when she was sworn in on February, 7, 2008.

Mottley joins the late Dame Eugenia Charles of Dominica, Janet Jagan of Guyana, Jamaica’s Portia Simpson Miller and Kamla Persad Bissessar as women who have led governments in their respective countries.

Following her party’s resounding victory, Mottley said she wanted to thank Barbadians for doing “what is best for Barbados”.

She is expected to name her Cabinet over the weekend.</s>The Caribbean island of Barbados elected its first female prime minister Thursday, adding to a growing list of woman-led countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Mia Amor Mottley, head of the Barbados Labour Party, will soon be sworn in as the country’s next prime minister after the party won all 30 seats in the country’s House of Assembly. Mottley campaigned on a platform attacking high taxes and the expensive cost of living on the island. She attributed these issues to policies ushered in by the current ruling Democratic Labour Party, which has held a majority of seats in government since 2008.

The landslide victory is considered a strong rebuke of the incumbent’s agenda. Leader of the Democratic Labour Party and current Prime Minister Freundel Stuart conceded defeat as results still poured in early Friday morning. The win makes Mottley just the eighth prime minister to lead Barbados since the island first gained independence from Great Britain in 1966.

Mottley may have even received the unofficial backing of Barbados’ most famous national: Rihanna. Fans of the pop star pointed to her comment on the Instagram post of her close friend Leandra Goodridge. After Goodridge commented “Watching my next Prime Minister all day on @Bajantube stories,” Rihanna replied “Yes…. She deserves it!” Mottley then thanked Rihanna for her “love, support and blessings.”

While the soon-to-be prime minister now basks in her historic win, she has also faced unprecedented attacks along the way. During the campaign, some detractors accused Mottley of orchestrating an illegal tax write-off for her father in the early 1990s, and others even demanded that she publicly declare her sexuality. Supporters allege the criticism and attacks have more to do with her being female than unqualified, as Mottley has held positions in Barbadian government for nearly 30 years.

Female leadership in the English-speaking Caribbean isn’t new, however. Once sworn in, Mottley will become the fifth female head of government following Dominica’s Eugenia Charles in 1980, Guyana’s Janet Jagan in 1997, Trinidad and Tobago’s Kamla Persad Bissessar in 2010 and Jamaica’s Portia Simpson Miller in 2012.

It’s a tough road ahead for Mottley and Barbados’ new ruling party. Since 2009, the island’s economy struggled because of the global financial crisis, which drove up the national debt and contributed to a drop in tourism, a major source of the country’s gross domestic product. In recent years, the small island of nearly 300,000 residents has also seen several international credit rating agencies downgrade its economic outlook.</s>BARBADIANS go to the polls today after a period of uncertainty over whether the elections would take place. The Barbados parliament was automatically dissolved on March 5, without Prime Minister Freundel Stuart announcing an election date. Today’s election date was subsequently announced. Nomination Day was May 7. A total of 135 candidates will contest the election.

The main parties contesting the polls are the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP), and the opposition Mia Mottley led Barbados Labour Party (BLP). Both parties have announced their full slates of 30 candidates each.The new Solutions Barbados (SB), led by Grenville Phillips II, has announced a slate of 26 candidates. The United Progressive Party (UPP), led by former BLP Cabinet Minister Lynette Eastmond is fielding a slate of 23 candidates.

The People’s Democratic Congress (PDC), led by Mark Adamson has three candidates. The PDC’s partner in the Coalition of United Parties (CUP), the Bajan Free Party (BFP), led by Alex Mitchell also has three candidates. The Kingdom Government of Barbados (KGB), led by Steve Hunte, has one candidate. Today’s elections sees the Barbados Integrity Movement (BIM) facing the polls for the first time. The BIM is led by Neil Holder and has eight candidates. BIM is a member of CUP. Ten independent candidates also face the polls today.

Up for grabs are 30 seats in the Barbados House of Assembly. In terms of gender, there are 37 women and 98 men contesting the election. For the first time, two political parties, the BLP and UPP, are being led in an election by women (Mottley and Eastmond).

In the last general election in 2013, the DLP won 16 seats in the House of Assembly. The BLP won the remaining 14. Voter turnout then was 62.02 percent.
The Barbados Labour Party, entering the election as the opposition party, wins all 30 seats in the House of Assembly. Mia Mottley becomes the first female Prime Minister of Barbados.