United Progressive Party (UPP) Chair D. Gisele Isaac has alleged that the outcome of Antigua and Barbuda’s general election was heavily shaped by the governing party’s access to state resources, corporate influence and direct voter inducements.
In a sharply worded opinion column published Tuesday in the Daily Observer, Isaac described the country’s democracy as “plywood-built,” arguing that constitutional advantages enjoyed by incumbent governments create an uneven political playing field.
Isaac claimed the ruling party benefited from control over state institutions, including the Treasury, Immigration, the Port, Public Works, APUA, ABS-TV and the Electoral Commission.
“It is a fact that, constitutionally, the advantage in a general election belongs to the party in power,” she wrote, adding that the incumbent “controls all the resources of the State” and determines “how, when, and where they are deployed.”
The UPP chair also alleged that the recent election campaign featured “intensive and intentional cash bribery,” including “free-gas-on-bad-roads motorcading,” supermarket vouchers, gifts and concerts.
“This was a classic case of paying the people to remain in poverty,” Isaac wrote.
She argued that economic hardship made many voters more receptive to direct assistance rather than long-term policy proposals from the opposition.
“To thousands of families, scrunting because of the high cost of groceries and living with termites, the cash in hand and plywood were more attractive than the Opposition’s plans to make life better, healthier and more affordable,” she stated.
Isaac also reflected on internal turmoil within the UPP during the lead-up to the election, referencing defections, “double-agents” and disagreements over party decisions. She suggested that the opposition entered the campaign weakened but still managed to mount a significant challenge despite limited resources.
“Without apology I will say, again, that the Opposition — with its small resources but great goodwill and superior talent — pulled off an election campaign that was A+,” she wrote.
The veteran political figure further questioned the role of corporate influence in national politics, claiming some businesses and donors exert outsized control over election outcomes and government decision-making.
“Vote all you want — whether for a political leader or a party; it is those who open the purse — or keep it closed — that determine the outcome,” Isaac wrote.
She ended the column by expressing concern about public faith in the democratic process, saying she struggles to encourage electoral participation when “one man, one vote” does not reflect what she described as the reality of politics in Antigua and Barbuda.
The article comes days after the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party secured a fourth consecutive term in office in the April 30 general election.