2026 Barbadian general election

2026 Barbadian general election

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All 30 seats in the House of Assembly 16 seats needed for a majority
Registered	271,205
Turnout	37.3%[citation needed]
First party Second party   Leader Mia Mottley Ralph Thorne Party BLP DLP Leader since 26 February 2013 19 February 2024 Leader's seat Saint Michael North East Christ Church South Ran in Saint John (lost) Last election 69.03%, 30 seats 26.55%, 0 seats Seats won 30 0 Seat change Popular vote 71,109 27,808 Percentage 69.83% 27.31%
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election Mia Mottley BLP Elected Prime Minister Mia Mottley BLP

General elections were held in Barbados on 11 February 2026 to elect the 30 members of the House of Assembly. Parliament was dissolved on 19 January and the final day for nominations was 27 January.^[1] The two leader candidates were Mia Mottley of the Barbados Labour Party and Ralph Thorne of the Democratic Labour Party. The ruling BLP won all 30 seats for the third election in a row, with DLP leader Thorne being defeated in St. John.^[2][3]

According to the Constitution of Barbados, the Parliament shall stand dissolved no later than every five years from the first sitting of Parliament.^[4] The previous general elections were held on 19 January 2022, and the first sitting of the new session of Parliament was held on 4 February 2022.^[5] After the dissolution of Parliament, the President of Barbados must issue a writ for a general election of members to the House of Assembly and for appointment of senators to the Senate within 90 days.^[6] The 2022 general elections saw the ruling Barbados Labour Party win all 30 seats for the second consecutive election since 2018.^[7] Following the loss, DLP leader Verla De Peiza resigned from party leadership on 21 January 2022.^[8]

Ronnie Yearwood was selected as the next DLP president on 1 May 2022.^[9] On 10 February 2024, Ralph Thorne crossed the floor and became opposition leader.^[10] After crossing, Thorne appointed Ryan Walters and Tricia Watson as opposition senators.^[11] Yearwood confirmed that Thorne officially joined the DLP and became the party's political leader on 19 February the same year.^[12] The DLP began losing confidence in Yearwood as DLP president after he attended a meeting with Saint Lucia's opposition leader Allen Chastanet without permission from Thorne.^[13] A power struggle within the party followed, with the DLP dividing into factions between Thorne and Yearwood.^[14] DLP general secretary Steve Blackett and Yearwood were suspended in May 2024 by the party's general council as a result of the struggle.^[15][16] Blackett and Yearwood were expelled from the DLP on 17 August 2024.^[17] On 17 January 2026, Mia Mottley, the Prime Minister of Barbados, called for a new general election to be held less than a month away on 11 February of the same year.^[18]

The 30 members of the House of Assembly are elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.^[19] The system is modeled on the Westminster system.

Following the call for an election on 17 January, DLP leader and leader of the opposition stated that the DLP was ready to campaign on cost of living, crime, and the healthcare system.^[20] In the early campaign, Grenville Phillips II, party president of Solutions Barbados, remarked that there was no room for a third party in Barbados but he was still willing to support candidates who ran under Solutions Barbados.^[21] Reform Barbados founder Steve Prescott stated that his party would platform on economic reform, cost of living, and addressing youth unemployment.^[22]

Prime Minister Mia Mottley addressed a crowd on 22 January, detailing the public sector wage increases, reductions in income taxes, improvement of health care, and investments in public transport.^[23] Ryan Walters, a DLP candidate in St. Michael North West, stressed that voter engagement was top priority for DLP in the elections.^[24] Charles McDonald Griffith, who was running against Thorne in St. John, stating that he had assisted in improvements of public transport, sanitation, and employment.^[25]

BLP candidates paid their election deposits on 22 January,^[26] followed by both the DLP and Friends of Democracy on 23 January.^[27][28] The DLP staged an islandwide motorcade on 24 January, which traveled through the constituencies of Bridgetown, St. Michael, St. James, St. Peter, St. Lucy, St. George, St. John, St. Philip, and Christ Church.^[29] Thorne made several claims throughout the election campaign of the BLP-led government "interfering" with the voter list and the work of the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC), disenfranchising potential electors. He also called for an extension of voter registration deadlines.^[30] Mottley refuted his claims and invited authorities from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Commonwealth of Nations to act as official election observers.^[31] She stated this decision was made in a bid to "protect the reputation of Barbados".^[32]

The BLP launched their party manifesto on 2 February,^[33] while the DLP launched their party manifesto on 8 February.^[34] The same day, Mottley criticised the DLP for giving Barbadians little time to analyse the DLP's manifesto.^[35] The FOD also outlined their policies on 8 February, calling for affordable housing, budget reform, and the reintroduction of capital and corporal punishment.^[36] The secretary general's office of the Commonwealth of Nations, which as a body had fielded election observers from other countries to Barbados hailed the election as being peaceful and noted the "strong civic participation and respect for democratic rules". The press statement highlighted the fact "some names" were not found on the polling day voter's census. Though the overall election was summarized as being a positive example for the world.^[37][38]

Early voting was held for police officers and election day workers on 4 February.^[39] In previous elections, members of the overseas diplomatic corps have voted early as well. The EBC was reportedly in a state of readiness the day before the 11 February election. Polling was held from 06:00 to 18:00 (AST). Chief Electoral Officer Shirland Turton said there would be 542 polling boxes across the 30 constituencies, and more than 2,500 people were employed to facilitate operations at the various locations.^[40]

Ten political parties nominated candidates for this election. Including two independents, there were a total of 93 candidates. The slate of potential electors vying disclosed their affiliation under eight main political affiliations:^[31]

• The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) – the previous ruling party administration
• The Democratic Labour Party (DLP)
• Reform Barbados (RB)
• Solutions Barbados (SB)^[41]
• Friends of Democracy (FOD)
• Barbados Sovereignty Party (BSP)
• Bajan Free Party (BFP)^[42]
• The People's Coalition for Progress (PCP)

An independent coalition of smaller parties was announced involving an alliance comprising candidates running under the banner of: the New National Party (NNP), the United Progressive Party (UPP) and the Conservative Barbados Leadership Party (CBLP).^[43]

Party		Position	Ideology	Leader	Leader since	Leader's seat	2022 election		Seats at dissolution	Contested seats
							%	Seats
	Barbados Labour Party	Centre-left	Social democracy Republicanism	Mia Mottley	26 February 2013[44]	St. Michael North East	69.26	30 / 30	29 / 30	30 seats
	Democratic Labour Party	Centre-left	Social democracy Republicanism	Ralph Thorne	19 February 2024[45]	Christ Church South Standing in St. John	26.41	0 / 30	1 / 30	30 seats
	People's Coalition for Progress (NNP–UPP–CBLP)	Centre-left to centre-right	Social democracy Progressivism Conservatism Multiculturalism	Kemar Stuart Lynette Eastmond Corey Beckles	19 January 2026[46]	Standing in St. John (Stuart) Standing in St. Philip West (Eastmond) Standing in City of Bridgetown (Beckles)	New	0 / 30	0 / 30	12 seats
	Friends of Democracy	Centre-left	Social democracy	Karina Goodridge	18 May 2025[47]	Standing in St. Phillip West	New	0 / 30	0 / 30	12 seats
	Bajan Free Party		Government transparency Anti-corruption	Alex Mitchell	1 October 2012[48]	Standing in St. Michael South	0.17	0 / 30	0 / 30	3 seats
	Barbados Sovereignty Party			Michael Thompson[49]		None	0.11	0 / 30	0 / 30	2 seats
	Solutions Barbados	Centre	Third Way	Grenville Phillips II	1 July 2015[50]	None	0.69	0 / 30	0 / 30	1 seat
	Reform Barbados			Steve Prescott	2018[51]	Standing in Christ Church East	New	0 / 30	0 / 30	1 seat

Source: The Nation Barbados^[52]

Name	BLP	DLP	FOD	PCP	SB	BFP	BSP	RB	Independent
City of Bridgetown	Michael Lashley	Dale Rowe		Corey Beckles					Patrick King
Christ Church East	Wilfred Abrahams	Amoy Bourne		Ingrid Best				Steven Prescott
Christ Church East Central	Ryan Straughn	Quincy Jones	Dominique Yorke	Natalie Parris
Christ Church South	Shantal Munroe-Knight	Corey Greenidge		Christopher Alleyne	Robert Toussaint
Christ Church West	William Duguid	Andrew Cave
Christ Church West Central	Adrian Forde	Rasheed Belgrave
St. Andrew	Romel Springer	Ramon Goodman
St. George North	Toni Moore	David Walrond
St. George South	Dwight Sutherland	Felicia Dujon							Suzanne Holligan
St. James Central	Kerrie Symmonds	Paul Gibson	Kerry Thomas						Erskine Alleyne
St. James North	Chad Blackman	Charles Worrel	Steffanie Williams
St. James South	Sandra Husbands	Pedro Greaves	Matthew Thorne
St. Lucy	Peter Phillips	Ian Griffith	Sherlan Davis	Wayne Griffith
St. Michael Central	Tyra Trotman	Andre Worrel	Raymond Wiggins	Anthony Hinds
St. Michael East	Trevor Prescod	Ensley Grainger		Carolyn Clarke
St. Michael South	Kirk Humphrey	Nathaniel Boyce				Alex Mitchell
St. Michael South Central	Marsha Caddle	Richard Sealy		David Gill
St. Michael South East	Santia Bradshaw	Pedro Shepherd					Roy Turney
St. Michael North	David Ishmael	Dawn Armstrong	Ricardo Harrison
St. Michael North East	Mia Mottley	Jamal Sandiford					Clarene Howard
St. Michael North West	Neil Rowe	Ryan Walters	Ricardo Williams
St. Michael West	Christopher Gibbs	Damien Fanus		Patsie Nurse
St. Michael West Central	Ian Gooding-Edghill	James Paul, Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society	Katrina Ramsay
St. Peter	Colin Jordan	Jason Phillips
St. Philip North	Dr. Sonia Browne	Simon Clarke	Anya Lorde	Nigel Newton
St. Philip South	Indar Weir	Neil Marshall	Omar Smith			John Scantlebury
St. Philip West	Kay McConney	David Estwick	Karina Goodridge	Lynette Eastmond
St. John	Charles Griffith	Ralph Thorne		Kemar Stuart
St. Joseph	Ryan Brathwaite	Randall Rouse
St. Thomas	Gregory Nicholls	Rolerick Hinds				Irving Wittaker

Polling firm	Last date of polling	Link	BLP	DLP	Others	Margin	Sample size	Lead
The Nation Barbados Starcom Network[a]	31 January 2026	[53]	77.1	18.6	4.3	±3pp	1 145	58.5
	17 January 2026	Mia Mottley announces 2026 Barbadian general election
2022 election	22 January 2022	[54]	69.26	26.41	4.35	—N/a	114,013	42.85

Early results first came in shortly after 11 pm local time, with a victory for the BLP's Santia Bradshaw in Saint Michael South East.^[55] A preliminary tally showed the BLP winning 15,978 votes (74.1%) and securing 21 seats, with the DLP winning 5,406 votes (25.1%) with no seats yet secured.^[56] By the early morning of 12 February, the BLP secured all 30 seats for the third election in a row.^[3] In St. John, Charles Griffith retained the seat with 2,327 votes, defeating DLP leader Ralph Thorne, who received 1,877 votes. In St. Michael North West, incumbent Neil Rowe won with 1,674 votes, defeating a strong challenge from DLP candidate Ryan Walters, who received 1,441 votes. In St. Michael Central and Bridgetown, BLP candidates who crossed the floor from the DLP won their respective races.^[55]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Barbados Labour Party	71,109	69.83	30	0
	Democratic Labour Party	27,808	27.31	0	0
	Friends of Democracy	1,424	1.40	0	New
	People's Coalition for Progress	910	0.89	0	New
	Bajan Free Party	161	0.16	0	0
	Independents	426	0.42	0	0
Total		101,838	100.00	30	0
Source: Barbados Today[57]

Sources for votes:^[57][58]

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Michael Lashley	Barbados Labour Party	2,647	81.98
	Dale Rowe	Democratic Labour Party	478	14.80
	Corey Beckles	People's Coalition for Progress	104	3.22	New
Total			3,229	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Wilfred Abrahams	Barbados Labour Party	3,324	76.01	+2.3
	Amoy Gilding-Bourne	Democratic Labour Party	1,049	23.99	+2.6
	Ingrid Best	People's Coalition for Progress	0	0.00	New
	Stephen Prescott	Reform Barbados	0	0.00	New
Total			4,373	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold		Swing		–0.15

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Ryan Straughn	Barbados Labour Party	3,422	75.67
	Quincy Jones	Democratic Labour Party	976	21.58
	Dominique Yorke	Friends of Democracy	77	1.70	New
	Corey Beckles	People's Coalition for Progress	47	1.04	New
Total			4,522	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Shantal Munro-Knight	Barbados Labour Party	2,301	66.60
	Corey Greenidge	Democratic Labour Party	1,048	30.33
	Robert Toussaint	Solutions Barbados	77	2.23	New
	Christopher Alleyne	People's Coalition for Progress	29	0.84	New
Total			3,455	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	William Duguid	Barbados Labour Party	2,439	78.05
	Andrew Cave	Democratic Labour Party	686	21.95
Total			3,125	100.00
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Adrian Forde	Barbados Labour Party	1,080	72.97
	Rasheed Belgrave	Democratic Labour Party	400	27.03
Total			1,480	100.00
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Romel Springer	Barbados Labour Party	3,051	78.92
	Ramon Goodman	Democratic Labour Party	815	21.08
Total			3,866	100.00
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Toni Moore	Barbados Labour Party	1,146	86.23
	David Walrond	Democratic Labour Party	183	13.77
Total			1,329	100.00
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Dwight Sutherland	Barbados Labour Party	3,517	71.86
	Felicia Dujon	Democratic Labour Party	1,127	23.03
	Suzanne Holligan	Independent	250	5.11
Total			4,894	100.00
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Kerrie Symmonds	Barbados Labour Party	2,379	71.79
	Paul Gibson	Democratic Labour Party	853	25.74
	Kerry Thomas	Friends of Democracy	82	2.47
	Erskine Alleyne	Independent	0	0.00
Total			3,314	100.00
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Chad Blackman	Barbados Labour Party	3,019	83.95
	Charles Worrell	Democratic Labour Party	405	11.26
	Steffanie William	Friends of Democracy	172	4.78
Total			3,596	100.00
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Sandra Husbands	Barbados Labour Party	2,590	56.61
	Pedro Greaves	Democratic Labour Party	1,824	39.87
	Matthew Thorne	Friends of Democracy	161	3.52
Total			4,575	100.00
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Charles McDonald Griffith	Barbados Labour Party	2,327	52.36
	Ralph Thorne	Democratic Labour Party	1,884	42.39
	Kemar Stuart	People's Coalition for Progress	233	5.24
Total			4,444	100.00
	Barbados Labour Party switch (NOTE: Thorne initially ran as a BLP member in 2022, but afterwards crossed the floor)

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Ryan Brathwaite	Barbados Labour Party	3,012	74.89
	Randall Rouse	Democratic Labour Party	1,010	25.11
Total			4,022	100.00
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Peter Phillips	Barbados Labour Party	2,211	50.16
	Ian Griffith	Democratic Labour Party	2,026	45.96
	Wayne Griffith	People's Coalition for Progress	134	3.04	New
	Sherland Davis	Friends of Democracy	37	0.84	New
Total			4,408	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Tyra Trotman	Barbados Labour Party	1,962	73.59
	Andre Worrell	Democratic Labour Party	464	17.40
	Raymond Wiggins	Friends of Democracy	168	6.30	New
	Anthony Hinds	People's Coalition for Progress	72	2.70	New
Total			2,666	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Trevor Prescod	Barbados Labour Party	2,221	67.02
	Ensley Grainger	Democratic Labour Party	962	29.03
	Carolyn Clarke	People's Coalition for Progress	131	3.95	New
Total			3,314	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Davidson Ishmael	Barbados Labour Party	2,700	70.35
	Dawn-Marie Armstrong	Democratic Labour Party	903	23.53
	Bertnul Harrison	Friends of Democracy	235	6.12	New
Total			3,838	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Mia Mottley	Barbados Labour Party	3,560	87.90
	Jamal Sandiford	Democratic Labour Party	391	9.65
	Clerene Howard	Barbados Sovereignty Party	99	2.44	New
Total			4,050	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Neil Rowe	Barbados Labour Party	1,674	53.13
	Ryan Walters	Democratic Labour Party	1,441	45.73
	Ricardo Williams	Friends of Democracy	36	1.14	New
Total			3,151	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Kirk Humphrey	Barbados Labour Party	2,181	79.34
	Nathaniel Boyce	Democratic Labour Party	511	18.59
	Alex Mitchell	Bajan Free Party	57	2.07	New
Total			2,749	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Marsha Caddle	Barbados Labour Party	2,232	66.85
	Richard Sealy	Democratic Labour Party	994	29.77
	David Gill	People's Coalition for Progress	113	3.38	New
Total			3,339	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Santia Bradshaw	Barbados Labour Party	3,050	80.60
	Pedro Shepherde	Democratic Labour Party	734	19.40
Total			3,784	100.00
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Christopher Gibbs	Barbados Labour Party	116	78.91
	Damien Fanus	Democratic Labour Party	31	21.09
	Patsy Nurse	People's Coalition for Progress	0	0.00	New
Total			147	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Ian Gooding-Edghill	Barbados Labour Party	2,415	79.86
	James Paul	Democratic Labour Party	539	17.82
	Katrina Ramsay	Friends of Democracy	70	2.31	New
Total			3,024	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Colin Jordan	Barbados Labour Party	3,016	71.33
	Jason Phillips	Democratic Labour Party	1,212	28.67
Total			4,228	100.00
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Sonia Browne	Barbados Labour Party	1,905	51.68
	Simon Clarke	Democratic Labour Party	1,672	45.36
	Anya Lorde	Friends of Democracy	85	2.31	New
	Nigel Newton	People's Coalition for Progress	24	0.65	New
Total			3,686	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Indar Weir	Barbados Labour Party	2,185	62.95
	Neil Marshall	Democratic Labour Party	1,191	34.31
	Omar Smith	Friends of Democracy	60	1.73	New
	John Scantlebury	Bajan Free Party	35	1.01	New
Total			3,471	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Kay McConney	Barbados Labour Party	2,740	51.96
	David Estwick	Democratic Labour Party	2,187	41.48
	Karina Goodridge	Friends of Democracy	323	6.13	New
	Lynette Eastmond	People's Coalition for Progress	23	0.44	New
Total			5,273	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Candidate		Party	Votes	%	+/–
	Gregory Nicholls	Barbados Labour Party	3,066	80.68
	Rolerick Hinds	Democratic Labour Party	665	17.50
	Irvin Whittaker	Bajan Free Party	69	1.82	New
Total			3,800	100.00	–
	Barbados Labour Party hold

Prime Minister Mia Mottley declared a bank holiday for 13 February and announced a nation thanksgiving and rally for 14 February. Mottley remarked that the victory from the elections carried responsibility, not entitlement. She stressed the need to protect democratic institutions and pledged renewed focus on the issues of public safety and health care. Mottley announced that her new cabinet would be sworn in on 16 February and that parliament had been asked to reconvene no later than 20 February.^[55]

DLP leader Ralph Thorne described the results as disappointing and vowed that the party would continue to move forward.^[59] Thorne also expressed frustration during voting processes, stating that he could not vote in Rendezvous since he had not lived there in more than two decades.^[60] Thorne later indicated that he would be stepping down from DLP leadership, stating that the party would rebuild without him at the helm.^[61]

After Mottley was elected to a third term in office, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered congratulations, commenting that the United States was looking forward in expanding collaboration with the government of Barbados and "strengthening regional security by deepening cooperation to counter transnational criminal organizations and illicit trafficking".^[62] Indian prime minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mottley, stating that he looks forward to "working closely with her to further strengthen our partnership for the benefit of our peoples".^[63] Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Lin Jian congratulated Mottley in a press briefing, stating that China was "willing to work with Barbados to expand practical cooperation across various fields and to bring their friendship to a new level".^[64]

Mottley was congratulated by Anguillan premier Cora Richardson Hodge,^[65] Antiguan and Barbudan prime minister Gaston Browne,^[66] the United Democratic Party of Belize,^[67] Bermudan premier David Burt,^[68] Cuban president Miguel Diaz Canel,^[69] Dominican prime minister Roosevelt Skerrit,^[66] Guyanese president Irfaan Ali and opposition leader Azruddin Mohamed,^[70][71][72] Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness and opposition leader Mark Golding of the People's National Party,^[66][73], Nicaraguan co-presidents Daniel Ortega Saavedra and Rosario Murillo,^[74], Kittitian prime minister Terrance Drew,^[66] Vincentian prime minister Godwin Friday,^[66] Surinamese president Jennifer Simons,^[75] and Trinidadian prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and opposition leader Pennelope Beckles-Robinson.^[76]

• Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Barbados)