By Charminae George
As the St Mary’s South by-election draw nearer, Andrew Antonio of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) is resolute in his plans to contest the seat, despite the odds.
“No matter how hard the fight is, I don’t care if I get zero votes… I’m fighting for something I believe in. Over time, I’m hoping persons will see the drive I have, and understand that this fight is an important fight and join me in this,” he told Observer yesterday.
Along with his social media and door-to-door campaign for the by-election, he has started the process of implementing initiatives at the Sunshine Home for Girls aimed at fostering a family atmosphere among the girls residing there.
“What we have right now is a few projects with these young girls, such as the birthday club where we provide birthday activities…the Big Sister program and so on,” he said.
In the future, he plans to implement two major educational programs which will seek to equip the youth and adults with necessary life skills.
“Two of the main things I would like to focus on, if given the opportunity, is an educational programme for youths and adults…[on] things you should learn before finishing school, and how to survive. For example, how does a mortgage work?”
“[Also] create a free adult learning centre for persons of any age group, for them to be able to start understanding how to make their money work for them,” he stated.
Antonio added that the programs will be piloted in the Girls’ Home before being expanded to the secondary schools in the constituency, in time for the new school year in September 2024.
Additionally, the DNA candidate indicated that he is in the process of establishing a non-government organisation which will aid in securing funding to ensure that the projects will achieve their fullest potential.
“We have members of the community and myself who are starting a non-profit organisation where we are planning to get grant funding to handle some of these projects,” he stated.
Early in July, Antonio confirmed that he plans to contest the upcoming St Mary’s South by-election. Previously, the DNA candidate vied for that seat in the January 18 elections, securing 12 votes.
In addition to Antonio, former parliamentary representative Kelvin ‘Shugy’ Simon of the United Progressive Party (UPP), and Senator Dwayne George of the Antigua Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP), will also vie to become the constituency’s next parliamentary representative.
Simon won that constituency seat in the January 18 elections, however, he later announced his resignation as MP for St Mary’s South on June 7. His decision triggered a by-election due within 120 days of the resignation, as mandated by law.
According to Simon, he vacated the seat to prevent the constituents from being negatively impacted by the lengthy legal battle he anticipated would’ve ensued as a result of an election petition filed on behalf of the ruling ABLP that questioned Simon’s eligibility for office.
