SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Grenada and other eastern Caribbean islands were voting Thursday in general elections in which Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, who has called for slavery reparations and an apology from Britain, is seeking a second term.
Mitchell, of the National Democratic Congress, faces Peter David, a former foreign affairs minister running with the Democratic People’s Movement.
Mitchell has pledged to modernize the island’s economy, strengthen healthcare services and lower youth unemployment.
He and other leaders across the Caribbean have long been pushing for an apology and reparations for slavery from Britain.
In early September, Jamaica took its case for reparations to King Charles III, and the case has since been referred to the United Kingdom’s highest court of appeal for the Caribbean island. It was an unprecedented legal maneuver, even though the British government has consistently rejected demands for either an apology or reparations.
David has promised to generate more jobs, improve medical care and create a robust local food supply system.
More than 97,000 people are registered to vote in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
Fifteen seats in Grenada’s House of Representatives are up for grabs. The Senate, meanwhile, is represented by 13 appointed members.
Grenada obtained independence in 1974, after being under French and then British rule.
In 1983, the U.S. invaded Grenada after a radical faction executed Marxist Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, three members of his Cabinet and four other people.
While the U.N. and several countries condemned the invasion, Grenada celebrates its anniversary every year on Oct. 25, dubbing it “Thanksgiving Day.”
