Above: Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart (CJ Photo)

By Alexander Britell

Barbados Prime Minister Freundel Stuart has officially “rung the bell,” calling new national elections for Feb. 21.

Freundel Stuart, the leader of the ruling Democratic Labour Party, is seeking his first full term as Prime Minister, after serving since 2010 following the death of former Prime Minister David Thompson.

In a government release, the Prime Minister said he had officially notified Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave.

Nomination day will be on Feb. 6.

The DLP, in a statement on Twitter, said the party was “ready for the polls.”

In a statement, the Opposition Barbados Labour Party said it had a “plan and a vision to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of Barbadians, create jobs for our people and bring down the crippling cost of living.”

Former Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur, who served as PM for 14 years, leads the BLP, which lost the country’s last national election in 2008.

The Caribbean has seen a wave of Opposition parties sweep many of the region’s elections over the last few years, from Jamaica’s People’s National Party to the Progressive Liberal Party in the Bahamas.

Updated: Jan. 30, 2013 at 10:03 AM