Atg: Election heat in the place!

Yah, mon! The twin island state of Antigua and Barbuda is revving up for elections. The Electoral Commission has disbursed the necessary monies; candidates like Francis Nunes, Jr. are trotting out the electoral gun talk; PM Lester Bird is about to dissolve Parliament next week -- that's a clear sign that election is in the air and around the corner; and, the opposition is acting, well, as opposition parties do; and newspapers are doling out advice election date prognosticators.

The ruling Antigua Labour Party (ALP) prepares for its convention this weekend with up to 600 official delegates and 400 observers converging at the Royal Antiguan Resort. Will the date of the elections be revealed at this convention? This seems to be the biggest question on the island at the moment, but the prime minister has given a clear indication that the date will be revealed, as usual, at the North Street headquarters of the Antigua Trades & Labour Union.

The leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP) Baldwin Spencer, is now demanding that the date be announced by next Tuesday. Flushed with the apparent success of his earlier ultimatum regarding the funding of the Electoral Commission it remains to be seen whether he can strike twice in a row.