Cora Richardson-Hodge to become Anguilla’s first woman Premier
Political Leader of the Anguilla United Front (AUF), Cora Richardson-Hodge will be sworn in on Thursday. Richardson-Hodge’s AUF won eight of the eleven seats in the Anguilla House Assembly, following Wednesday’s general election. The AUF secured a majority to form the new government.
The AUF’s winning candidates are party leader Cora Richardson-Hodge, Jose Vanterpool, Jeison Byran, Shelllya Rogers, Kyle Hodge, Cordell Richardson, Cardigan Connor and Evans McNiel.
Outgoing Premier Ellis Webster along with Haydn Hughes and Merrick Richardson will form the official opposition.
Anguilla has a British-appointed female governor, Julia Crouch.
The main issues in the campaign were the economy – especially issues surrounding a controversial Goods and Services Tax(GST), management of Anguilla’s hugely successful ‘.ai’ domain name, tourism, cost of living and concerns about crime.
One key topic which surfaced early in the campaign surrounded removing the franchise from diaspora voters. However, that was shelved following an outcry and demands to keep the longstanding system in place.
Anguilla has 12,432 registered voters from a population of around 15,900.