666

Monday is 6/6/16. The digits almost spell the "number of the beast" from the New Testament. This date is spelled the same in the U.S. and the Caribbean.  Here, the numbers are arranged Day/Month/Year, from small to large which makes more sense to me than Month/Date/Year, we use in the U.S.   St. Lucia is extremely superstitious, and the children still pray each day in the government owned schools.  So, the fact that this date is also the day Lucians elect a Prime Minister has raised more than routine election cycle concerns.


While Americans are fighting thru their four year campaign season, featuring a regular November deadline, Lucians don't maintain a set election date.  Instead, a month before a term is to end, officials choose a date to vote, and then the  race begins.  Here, however, campaigning is more like a game of Capture the Flag.  The current prime minister is the red team. The opposition is yellow.  The flags go up, and then at night teams circulate to remove the opponents flags.


Drums and megaphones thump and whine into the night. Heated debates on buses and park benches are underway, and the evening news is bright with primary colors. Although 70% of the population is under 30, most youth, in my informal poll, are not voting.  Current sentiment is that both red and yellow parties promise a future of continued government corruption and stagnation.  Even so, everyone is careful to choose their wardrobe colors carefully!