ST GEORGE’S (CMC):

The newly elected leader of the main opposition New Democratic Congress (NDC), attorney Dickon Mitchell, is sending a “clear and resounding message” that the party which was severely trounced in the last two general elections “is once more on the path of inspiring hope and belief in our people and our nation”.

Mitchell, who is making his entry into electoral politics here, was elected on Sunday during the party’s convention, following former Prime Minister Tillman Thomas and former senior government minister Nazim Burke.

Thomas led the party to victory in the 2008 general election, but in 2013 the party failed to win a seat in the 15-member parliament, a position it also repeated during the 2018 general election under Burke’s leadership.

Sunday’s NDC convention was held virtually, as the country continues with its measures aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“You have chosen unity over disunity; you have chosen resilience, flexibility, inclusiveness, and strength over infighting, weakness, vacillation, or wishy-washiness. You have chosen boldness and courage over timidity and the same ol’, same ol’. You have chosen positive change and transformation over stagnation and failure,” Mitchell told the delegates attending the convention.

Mitchell described his election to the top post as the first step in transforming the politics of Grenada, adding that it is his belief that it is the first time in the modern history of the island that so many people had the opportunity to understand the importance of democracy.

“This convention has opened the eyes of every Grenadian to the importance to our democracy, to the importance of the political process; and so I expect, as part of that transformation, we will continue to educate our population,” he said.