NDP Constituency Council chooses Cupid for West St George as PM says elections will be in 2025

If all goes as planned, Assistant Comptroller of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), Kaschaka Cupid will come up against the Unity Labour Party’s (ULP) Curtis King in West St. George during the next general elections, which Prime Minister, Dr Ralph said on radio at the weekend will be held in the new year.

Cupid is currently awaiting ratification by the New Democratic Party’s (NDP) central committee. He gained the nod from the West St. George Constituency Council last Thursday, December 19,2024, during the selection process which was held at the NDP’s base in Richmond Hill. He defeated Louise Mitchell, the daughter of former Prime Minister, the late Sir James Mitchell (founder of the NDP).

Cupid, a father of two and a trained accountant who attended the University of The West Indies (The UWI), Cave Hill, said the process to get him to this point was a lengthy but well balanced and democratic one. He said the people got who they wanted and he is awaiting the ratification procedure. Once ratified, will be the fourth new candidate to be named by the New Democratic Party to contest polls.

Cupid is a past student of the Belair Government School, the Kingstown Preparatory School (KPS), and the St Vincent Grammar School (SVGS).

He has represented St Vincent and the Grenadines at all levels of cricket, and was a member of the first ever SVG Under-15 team at the age of 12. He has also represented the Windward Islands Under-15, and Windward Islands Under-19 teams. The latter team won the regional championship in Guyana in 2000. Cupid was also a member of St Vincent men’s senior team in 2003.

Currently, he is the First Vice President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association (SVGCA), and a Director of the Windward Island Cricket Board (WICB). He holds a Master’s degree in Investments and Wealth Management from The UWI Cave Hill Campus, Barbados.

Parliament recently paved the way for public sector workers in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) to offer themselves as election candidates without the repercussions of loss of their jobs or pension benefits.

This was made possible with the passing of an Amendment to the Representation of the People Act which was debated and passed in Parliament on Tuesday, October 29,2024. The Amendment Bill was tabled in Parliament by Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves.

Speaking about the Bill, the Prime Minister mentioned the names of former Parliamentarians on both sides of the House of Assembly who were negatively affected by the Law prior to its amendment.

He said once they contested the elections “ they got no benefits.”

Mention was made of such persons as Alphonzo Dennie, Selmon Walters, Girlyn Miguel, Clayton Burgin, Montgomery Daniel, and the more recent case of the three unsuccessful NDP candidates in the 2010 general elections, Elvis Daniel, Ken Johnson and Edison Thomas.

The Prime Minister also made mention of current New Democratic Party (NDP) Senator, Shevern John, Terrance Ollivierre, Parliamentary Representative for the Southern Grenadines, and former North Leeward representative Roland “Patel” Matthews.

Contributing to debate, on the amendment, Opposition Leader, Dr Godwin Friday supported the legislation and added that it should have been in place a long time ago. Speaking on WEFM on Sunday, December 22, 2024, the Prime Minister spoke briefly about the next general elections saying that the Governor General will be informed in the new year of the prorogation of Parliament to pave the way for the polls, and that the electorate will have their say. The Unity Labour Party (ULP), will be seeking a sixth unbroken five year term at the helm of government in the next general elections.