Above: Antigua’s Parliament (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Antigua and Barbuda heads to the polls Thursday as the country readies to choose its next government.

Prime Minister Dr Baldwin Spencer’s United Progressive Party faces off in Thursday’s general elections against the Antigua Labour Party led by Gaston Browne,

Spencer is closing out his second term as Prime Minister, after first leading the UPP to victory in March 2004.

The Prime Minister’s UPP currently holds a majority in the House of Representatives of nine seats to seven seats, with one seat held by the Barbuda People’s Movement.

“Leadership is paramount and voters must choose the party and candidates with the better record of responsible leadership, vision and competence,” Spencer wrote in a Wednesday evening message on Facebook. “Our place of pride has been restored in the international family of nations. We are no longer considered a rogue state. Lets keep it that way. For our children and the generations to come.”

“Under visionary leadership, we will rescue, rebuild and reinvigorate our economy and our society for the benefit of all,” Browne wrote on Facebook. “Together, we will move Antigua and Barbuda from a welfare state where many depend on the government for their daily survival and are solely disappointed, to a proud country where wealth is in the pockets of all the people.”

Electoral observation teams from both the Organization of American States and CARICOM will be on hand to vote on Thursday.