As Barbudans prepare to head to the polls on Wednesday for council elections, the stakes extend far beyond local governance, with candidates and voters grappling with fundamental questions about land rights and self-determination.
The March 26 vote will fill five seats on the Barbuda Council as mandated by the Barbuda Local Government Act, which requires elections every two years. According to John Mussington, Chairman of the Barbuda People’s Movement (BPM), this election represents a critical juncture for the island’s future.
“The main issue for us is one of maintaining control, of being empowered for self-determination,” Mussington said. “This election is about continuing to have a Barbuda Local Government Act. It’s about making sure that our system of managing our land, which essentially is our wealth … it is who we are as Barbudans.”
At the center of the electoral contest is an ongoing dispute over Barbuda’s traditional communal land system. In 2023, the central government of Antigua and Barbuda declared that land in Barbuda would be treated the same as land in Antigua, a move Mussington describes as an attempt to “disinherit” Barbudans.
“Barbuda was never considered to be a part of Antigua until 1860 when they were attached. And so, the land system has always been different,” Mussington explained. “In 2023, the central government administration is going to unilaterally declare that land in Barbuda is the same as land in Antigua. We weren’t even consulted.”
The BPM, which has controlled the council for many years, is fielding five candidates – incumbents Nico Antonio, Melanie Beazer, Wade Burton, and Nadia George, along with former council chair Jacqueline Frank.
Mussington’s party has been actively campaigning, with events that included a community social event on Saturday and door-to-door outreach. He describes their message as straightforward, “This vote is for Barbuda. This vote is for maintaining the powers of the Barbuda Council, which in effect is the powers of the people of Barbuda.”
The land dispute escalated in January 2025 when, according to Mussington, “the full riot squad land down in Barbuda and start to block off public roads where people have to access their homes, their farms, their hunting grounds, their freedoms.”
An adjudication process implemented by the central government in May 2024 has been effectively halted, with Barbudans refusing to participate and challenging its validity in court. “We are not taking part in it,” Mussington said. “There is also a constitutional class action which is being formulated against what is happening there.”
With approximately 1,300 registered voters, Mussington acknowledges that ensuring turnout is a challenge. “We are expecting that more and more persons will come around in terms of seeing the importance of doing their civic duty, of defending themselves, casting that vote to make sure that that power is not taken from them.”
The Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission has extended hours for voter registration and will provide temporary ID cards for those who haven’t revalidated their voter identification cards.
As Wednesday approaches, the election remains about much more than local administration. In Mussington’s words, it’s about “maintaining control of our destiny.”
