General elections were held in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

on 15 January 2008.Thompson sworn in as Barbados PM
Xinhua, 17 January 2008 A concurrent

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

to determine whether or not to become a republic was initially planned but vote was postponed. The Democratic Labour Party (DLP), which had been in opposition since 1994, won with 20 seats to 10 seats for the

Barbados Labour Party The Barbados Labour Party (BLP), colloquially known as the "Bees", is a social democratic political party in Barbados established in 1938. Led by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, it is the governing party of Barbados and the sole ruling party ...

, led by Prime Minister

Owen Arthur Owen Seymour Arthur, PC (17 October 194927 July 2020) was a Barbadian politician who served as the fifth prime minister of Barbados from 6 September 1994 to 15 January 2008. He is the longest-serving Barbadian prime minister to date. He also ...

. Recounts were held in some constituencies due to close results. On 11 September 2008 Hamilton Lashley MP, for St. Michael South-East announced he would

cross the floor In parliamentary systems, politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a different political party than which they were initially elected under (as is the case in Canada and the United Kingdom). ...

and no longer be a member of the Barbados Labour Party, but would instead become an independent. His defection brought the BLP as Opposition down to nine seats for the remainder of the Parliamentary session.BLP move?
Daily Nation, 5 October 2008 He later decided to join the ruling DLP party. DLP chairman David Thompson was sworn in as Prime Minister on 16 January. After David Thompson died in October 2010 a by-election was held in January 2011 to fill his vacant seat for St. John.

Results

References

{{Barbadian elections

General election Elections in Barbados January 2008 events in North America