United Progressive Party (UPP) Chairperson D Gisele Isaac announced on Monday that she will not seek re-election for her position during the party’s convention next year, signalling a major leadership transition within Antigua and Barbuda’s main opposition party.
Speaking during her regular radio programme on the party’s radio platform, Progressive Radio, Isaac disclosed that she has already applied for Social Security benefits, effectively confirming her upcoming retirement from active politics.
“I’ve already said publicly that I do not intend to contest again for chair,” Isaac stated. “I put in my application for Social Security. It can take up to two years for them to respond to you. That’s where I’m going; I’m going to be a pensioner.”
The announcement comes amid significant internal discord within the party after three sitting MPs — Algernon “Serpent” Watts, Kelvin “Shugy” Simon, and Richard Lewis — publicly criticized the party leadership on Observer Radio over the weekend.
The MPs claimed, among other issues, that they had not been properly informed about the party’s recent “Fed Up” rally, having allegedly only learned about it through social media.
However, Isaac challenged this narrative during her radio appearance, questioning how “unratified caretakers” could know about the event while elected MPs claimed to be uninformed.
“Does it make sense to you that caretakers who have not even been ratified yet know about a public meeting and persons who are Members of Parliament could not know?” she asked listeners.
The party’s chairperson emphasized her decade of service to the UPP, becoming chair 2015 when the party was struggling with only three parliamentary representatives following a major electoral defeat.
“I’ve been writing for the United Progressive Party since 2015. I’ve been writing for individuals in this party the 2018 campaign, 2023 campaign,” Isaac said, highlighting her contributions to the party.
Despite her decision to step down as chair, she indicated she would remain active in the party’s Women’s Forum and the St Peter branch, and described herself as “blessed to be part of a branch where we knock one head, we can agree, we can see the big picture”.
Meanwhile, Political Leader Jamale Pringle responded to the internal rift Monday night by calling for unity and urging party members to handle disagreements behind closed doors rather than in public forums.
“Let us regroup. Let us fix our problems internally while we continue to focus on the hardship created by the Antigua Barbuda Labour Party,” Pringle stated on his weekly “Straight Talk” programme.
The leadership transition comes at a critical time for the opposition, especially since Prime Minister Gaston Browne publicly hinted at calling an early general election to capitalize on the UPP’s current internal discord.
Meanwhile, the party is organizing a march scheduled for April 3rd to protest what they allege was the government’s decision to use taxpayer funds to retain a US law firm for legal matters involving the Prime Minister and his family.
