Malaka Parker, the United Progressive Party (UPP) candidate for St. John's Rural North, has launched a sharp critique of Prime Minister Gaston Browne's leadership, accusing his administration of using taxpayers' money to foster voter dependency. According to Antigua Observer, Parker described the practice as "institutional bribery."
Parker made the remarks during an appearance on the Knight show, where she outlined her concerns about what she characterised as a deliberate strategy by the Browne administration to condition the electorate through financial handouts funded by public resources.
The UPP candidate argued that the Prime Minister was effectively "weaponising hardship" — exploiting the economic difficulties faced by ordinary Antiguans and Barbudans to entrench political loyalty rather than deliver meaningful, sustainable relief.
Parker's comments represent a broader opposition narrative that the ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) uses state resources to secure electoral support, a charge the administration has previously denied.
As reported by Antigua Observer, Parker's appearance signals an increasingly assertive posture from the UPP ahead of the next general election cycle, with opposition candidates sharpening their attacks on the government's economic stewardship and its relationship with vulnerable communities.
