General elections were held in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

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

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

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. It has been in power in 1954–1961, 1976–1986, 1994–2008, and 2018–present. The BLP has been the go ...

, led by Prime Minister Owen Arthur. 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 some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...

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 A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

Elections in Barbados January 2008 in North America