United Progressive Party (UPP) Chair D. Gisele Isaac has alleged that the outcome of Antigua and Barbuda's recent general election was heavily shaped by the governing party's access to state resources, corporate influence, and direct voter inducements.
According to Antigua News Room, Isaac made the allegations in a sharply worded opinion column published Tuesday in the Daily Observer, in which she described the country's democracy as "plywood-built" and argued that constitutional advantages enjoyed by incumbent governments create an inherently uneven political playing field.
Isaac claimed the ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party benefited from control over key 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 further alleged that the election campaign featured "intensive and intentional cash bribery," including what she described as "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 left many voters more receptive to direct financial assistance than to the opposition's longer-term policy proposals. "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 challenges within the UPP in the lead-up to the election, referencing defections, "double-agents," and internal disagreements. She acknowledged the opposition entered the campaign in a weakened state but maintained it still mounted a formidable effort.
"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 also questioned the role of corporate donors in national politics, alleging that certain businesses exert disproportionate influence over both 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 closed the column by expressing concern over eroding public faith in the democratic process, saying she finds it difficult to encourage voter participation when "one man, one vote" does not, in her view, reflect the political realities of Antigua and Barbuda.
Isaac's column was published days after the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party secured a fourth consecutive term in office following the April 30 general election.
