Opposition Leader David Thompson votes in Barbados' general election yesterday. - AP

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):

Projections up to press time last night indicated that the main opposition Democratic Labour Party (DLP) was heading towards a big victory in the general election held in Barbados yesterday.

Preliminary results in 22 of the 30 constituencies contested in the election showed that the DLP was leading in 13 with the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), which is seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive term in office, winning in nine constituencies.

A number of government ministers are in danger of losing their seats, while Prime Minister Owen Arthur and his Minister of Economic Affairs Mia Mottley seem to be holding on to their seats.

Projections by Systems Caribbean Limited, a data research service, showed that the DLP was way ahead in the 13 constituencies in which most of the ballots had been counted.

Bogus ID cards

DLP leader David Thompson has reported some minor problems during yesterday's voting here, but says the voter turnout so far is a good sign for his party.

"We've had some reports that persons are walking with ID cards, the likeness of which does not correspond with the person holding the ID card," he told members of the media shortly after voting.

"We are monitoring the situation very carefully. We've asked all of our polling agents to be extremely careful regarding the identification of persons registered to vote to ensure they are, in fact, entitled by virtue of their residence and by virtue of the photo identification".

"I think this is going to be a significant swing for the DLP," said Professor Ian Boxill, a Jamaican pollster and University of the West Indies political scientist.

Hartley Henry, a strategist for the DLP, said that the "trend is clear", while DLP executive member George Pilgrim said that there was a mood of jubilation at the party's headquarters on the outskirts of the capital.

"It is good to see party members having something to celebrate again. They are extremely happy. It is clear that our message has been well received," he said. The DLP had campaigned on a theme of change.

Systems Caribbean Limited said that the DLP was now leading in 17 of the 25 seats where most of the ballots had been counted.

The Caribbean Development Services Limited had projected that the DLP would win 20 of the 30 seats at stake in the elections.

In the last Parliament, the BLP controlled 24 seats.