AS THE people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines prepare to go to the polls to elect a new government the major political parties say they are ready to rumble. Yesterday both the ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP) and the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), appeared very confident of victory in the polls which are scheduled for today. Boasting that he is the champion and that his party were "better by far" than any of the alternatives, Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says victory is secure for his ULP, which is seeking a second straight mandate to govern the country. Gonsalves is predicting a near clean sweep of the 15-seats at stake in the elections. "These challenging times, they (voters) need a man like Ralph and they say it and they know it and the polls indicate that," he told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). "I think right now we have 14 out of 15 (constituencies) and in the last days I am fighting in the northern Grenadines," he added. In the 2000 elections, the ULP romped to victory defeating the then incumbent NDP, which had been in office for 17 years, by a landslide. However, after four and a half years in opposition, NDP leader, Arnhim Eustace, says his party is rejuvenated and ready to take back the leadership reins from the ULP that he is accusing of being a failure. Buoyed by the results of the NDP's own public opinion polls, Eustace is quietly confident that his party can successfully boot the ULP out of office. "All I will say is that we lost 12 to three in the last election and we got 41.7 per cent of the vote and I don't think we are worse off today, I think we are better off today," he said. When pressed for figures, Eustace would only say "I think it is more than 41 per cent". SUPPORT HAS GROWN "Our support has grown very significantly and there are certain things like for instance when I walk on the streets. If I compare the reaction in the street to me in 2001 to 2005, there is no comparison, you can only contrast it and many people in St. Vincent and the Grenadines will tell you that." "There was a time when many people in St. Vincent felt that Gonsalves would be there until 2020, but today people are asking the question: Can he win?" Eustace told CMC. Asked if he has entertained the thought of not winning and his party suffering a second straight defeat at the hands of the ULP, Eustace acknowledged that elections can go any where but he said 'Right now, I think we winning". The campaign has been a fiercely fought one, with both parties pulling out all of the stops in a bid to woo the electorate. Reprinted from jamaica-gleaner.com