At NDC’s weekly press conference on Monday 19 March, Leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nazim Burke, sent out a clarion call to the members and supporters of the NDC to continue working toward building a better Grenada. “This is our country, we have to build it together. Let’s continue to work for a better place.”

Mr. Burke thanked members and supporters for the support throughout the campaign and commended them on the generally peacefulness displayed throughout the process. He also used the opportunity to congratulate the New National Party (NNP) on their victory in the general elections held on Tuesday 13 March.

It was mentioned to Mr. Burke that the Prime Minister and leader of the NNP indicated that a proposal letter would be issued to him (Mr. Burke) to be part of the unification process moving forward. However, Mr. Burke stated that to date, neither he nor any of the NDC members have yet received any such correspondence, and he believes “it would not be proper to respond to any correspondence that we have not seen.”

Addressing the issue of unity, Mr. Burke commented, “We support unity. We’ve spoken about unity throughout our campaign. We believe that Grenada needs to be a united country in order to move forward, and so we support the idea of national unity.” He suggested too that if the NDC is called upon and a proposal is given then and only then they will cross that bridge. However, “the party must meet and consult.”

The leader was also questioned about whether or not he is considering stepping down from the top position in the party, and to this he confirmed that no decisions have been made at this point, but, “whatever is the will of the party, I will submit to the will of the party.” He stated too that the NDC is currently doing their internal assessments, consultations and debriefings.

Additionally, Mr. Burke commented on some of the weaknesses of the party which may have cost them the election, including not putting out the manifesto earlier and limited resources, “but we did what we could with what we had.”

Despite not having official opposition representation, Mr. Burke remains insistent that the NDC’s base was not reduced in any way. “I don’t think I failed the supporters.” As a matter of fact, he stated that he was rather surprised to see the level of enthusiasm displayed even after the election, and he continues to implore upon them not to give up on Grenada.

Knowing that there is no opposition in the Parliament, Mr. Burke insisted that the onus is on the ruling administration to provide proper and fair governance through public participation and consultations etc., allowing persons to feel like they have a say in what goes on in their country.

So, what is the future for the NDC? According to Mr. Burke, it is their hope to reach out to every Grenadian going forward. “We believe that we have a very good vision for Grenada and a good plan for Grenada and we would still want an opportunity to implement those.”