St Lucia votes in election dominated by economy, crime and passport sales

"Voters in St Lucia have gone to the polls to elect a new legislature and choose their prime minister, in a race dominated by debates over economic management, violent crime and passport sales. The Labour party, led by the prime minister, Philip Pierre, is seeking to fend off a challenge from the conservative opposition leader, Allen Chastanet, who preceded Pierre as prime minister of the island of 180,000 people."

"Labour holds a strong majority in both of St Lucia's legislative chambers. Chastanet heads the conservative United Workers party, which has sought greater international security cooperation and financial transparency, while Pierre has advocated for stability and cautious economic management. The opposition leader argues that security has deteriorated under Pierre's tenure, partly because US support for local police had been curtailed under Washington's Leahy Law, which restricts assistance over past human rights abuses."

"Chastanet has called for open and accountable auditing of the island's citizenship-by-investment programme. Such schemes are an important source of tax income for several small island states in the eastern Caribbean but have strained relations with the US government, which warns these can be exploited by nefarious actors from countries such as China and Iran. Washington has proposed a gold card visa programme aimed at accelerating the immigration process for wealthy individuals."

Voters in St Lucia went to the polls to elect a new legislature and choose a prime minister amid debates over economic management, violent crime and passport sales. The Labour party led by Philip Pierre defended its majority against the United Workers party led by Allen Chastanet, a former prime minister. Labour held strong majorities in both legislative chambers. Chastanet campaigned for greater international security cooperation and financial transparency and called for open auditing of the citizenship-by-investment programme. Pierre emphasized stability and cautious economic management. The opposition cited curtailed US police support under the Leahy Law, and citizenship-by-investment revenue strained US relations.

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