Barbados has elected its first President in its history, who will replace United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state of the Caribbean island, marking a significant step toward abandoning the island’s colonial past.
On Wednesday, Sandra Mason was elected by a majority of two-thirds vote in a joint session of the country’s House of Assembly and Senate, marking a milestone on the country’s journey to republic, the authorities announced.
The nation with a population little under 300,000 people, which was a former British colony that earned independence in 1966, had long maintained links with the British monarchy all these years. However, in recent years, there has been an increase in aspirations for full sovereignty and homegrown leadership.
Mason, who is 72 years old, will be sworn in on November 30th, the 55th anniversary of the country’s independence from the United Kingdom. She was the first woman to serve in the Barbados Court of Appeals, and she has been serving as the governor-general of the island since 2018.
The election of a president, according to Mia Mottley, the Prime Minister of Barbados, is a ‘seminal moment’ in the history of the country.
According to Wazim Mowla of the Atlantic Council research tank, the election could help Barbados both nationally and internationally.
Barbados, a small developing country, will become a more respectable party in global politics as a result of the decision and it might also act as a ‘unifying and nationalistic gesture’ that benefits the island’s current leadership at home, Mowla commented.
The country’s decision to become a republic, was not a rejection of its British history, Mottley added.
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