~ ‘Tonight is a victory for unity, a victory for St. Martin’ ~
MARIGOT--Scores of red-shirted flag-waving supporters turned Marigot red after surrounding Hotel de la Collectivité and celebrating wildly with Triple R leader Alain Richardson after he coasted to an emphatic victory over Team Daniel Gibbs in the Territorial Council election runoff last night.
Triple R won the hearts and minds of the population, securing 5,451 votes (57 per cent), ahead of Team Daniel Gibbs 4,140 votes (43 per cent), a difference of 1,317 votes. With only two parties contesting the runoff, results came in early. There were 238 blank or invalid votes.
The results were read out by outgoing president Frantz Gumbs and later confirmed by the Préfecture. Gumbs praised the population and the two contesting parties for their conduct during the election runoff.
Triple R was victorious in 11 of the 13 districts, dominant at polling stations 12 and 13 (French Quarter) and polling stations two and three. Team Daniel Gibbs, by contrast, captured wins at only polling stations one and ten (Grand Case).
A total of 9,852 persons voted (55.5 per cent out of 17,909 registered voters), a slight increase over the first round when 9,329 people voted (52.5 per cent).
While many predicted another very close fight between the two parties, the pendulum clearly swung Triple R’s way after supporters of the other parties that didn’t make the cut for the second round endorsed Richardson’s party.
“God is good and God is great,” began Richardson in his victory speech as he appeared with his wife and team at the podium. “I want to thank everyone who has been praying and to thank the population for giving a very clear and good image of democracy in St. Martin. I want to thank you for exercising your civic rights with honour and dignity. I want to thank you for choosing Triple R to be the next government. We value your support. With you with us, St. Martin will not be deceived.”
He also thanked his team, saying, “Love and unity will keep us strong. The task is great and it will keep us constantly alert.”
Thanks were also directed to MAP and Saint Martin pour Tous for their support and to UP supporters, although there was no official endorsement from the latter. Finally, Richardson thanked his family for their prayers and support.
Richardson’s wife read out a prayer before the couple went to the balcony with other team members to soak up the applause.
“It wasn’t an easy battle,” he told the ecstatic crowd. “Tonight is a victory for unity, a victory for St. Martin. We will build a strong and united country.”
Gibbs was gracious in defeat, despite a mixed reaction from the crowd when he took the microphone.
“I want to thank Alain Richardson and his team for the work that brought him to victory tonight,” he said. “To the 4,140 people who voted for us you can count on us to defend your interests. We will continue our work. I want to thank all of my team for the work they have done. I want to thank the other parties who didn’t make it to the second round, but who made it possible for Triple R to win.”
Frantz Gumbs told The Daily Herald he had been ready for any surprise during the runoff.
“I will say that it is better that one party wins with a good margin, because if the victory is too narrow a margin that would weaken the winner. The winner needs to be strong and credible, and the margin gives Triple R legitimacy to do what they feel they should do for the best of the country.”
It was understood last night that Triple R would have 17 seats in the Territorial Council and Gibbs 6 in the Opposition, although this could not be confirmed.
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