Grenada Sets November 5 General Election
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell has announced that Grenadians will vote in a general election on Thursday, November 5, 2026, with candidate nominations confirmed for October 15. The ruling National Democratic Congress faces a revitalised contest against the main opposition New National Party, now led by Emmalin Pierre following the retirement of long-time leader Dr Keith Mitchell.
Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell has officially announced that voters will head to the polls on Thursday, November 5, 2026, to elect a new government. The prime minister revealed the election date during an address to enthusiastic supporters at the ruling party's campaign and candidate launch in St Mark, on the island's northwest coast.
While Prime Minister Mitchell did not state the nomination date during his platform address, an extraordinary publication in the official Government Gazette subsequently confirmed that the formal nomination of candidates across all 15 parliamentary constituencies will take place on October 15, 2026.
Mitchell, an attorney leading the National Democratic Congress into his second consecutive general election campaign, expressed strong confidence in securing a renewed mandate. Invoking party tradition, he told the crowd that it was time to sound the conch shell, which the party historically blows to signal major political moments, and rallied supporters for an active boots-on-the-ground campaign across Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique.
The governing party currently holds a 9 to 6 majority in the 15-seat House of Representatives. In his speech, Mitchell presented the party's full slate of 15 candidates and noted that some party faithful are aiming for a full sweep of the legislature. In Grenada's modern political history, only the opposition New National Party has previously managed clean sweeps, achieving the feat on three separate occasions.
The upcoming election marks a major transitional moment for the main opposition New National Party. The party is now headed by Emmalin Pierre, who assumed the leadership in 2024 and becomes the first woman to lead the party into a general election. Pierre succeeded party founder and former prime minister Dr Keith Mitchell, who formally stepped down from active electoral politics after 42 years as the parliamentary representative for St George's North West, noting during a special sitting of Parliament that no one had ever voted him out.
A third political force is also preparing to contest all 15 seats. The Democratic People's Movement, founded on November 16 last year by former foreign affairs minister Peter David, is fielding candidates and aiming to challenge the traditional two-party dynamic. Political developments and general elections across fellow Eastern Caribbean and CARICOM member states are closely watched by residents throughout the British Virgin Islands, where close family, cultural, and community ties connect the territories across the wider region.
Primary source: VINO