Leader of the main op­po­si­tion New Na­tion­al Par­ty (NNP), Dr. Kei­th Mitchell on Thurs­day an­nounced that he will be step­ping down from the po­si­tion that he has held since June 2022.

In that year, the NNP, that was then the in­cum­bent, lost the elec­tion 9-6 and he took the oath of of­fice to be Leader of the Op­po­si­tion days af­ter the Dick­on Mitchell Ad­min­is­tra­tion be­came the gov­ern­ment.

“I have of­fi­cial­ly re­lin­quished the role as the Leader of His Majesty’s Op­po­si­tion, ef­fec­tive Feb­ru­ary 21, 2025. I sub­mit­ted my let­ter in­form­ing the Gov­er­nor Gen­er­al Dame Ce­cile La Grenade of my de­ci­sion,” Dr Mitchell said in a news re­lease dis­sem­i­nat­ed on Fri­day morn­ing.

“I am deeply grate­ful for the op­por­tu­ni­ty to serve in this role and be­lieve it is time for new lead­er­ship to guide the par­ty and the op­po­si­tion for­ward. My com­mit­ment to the peo­ple of Grena­da re­mains un­wa­ver­ing, and I will con­tin­ue to serve as the Mem­ber of Par­lia­ment for St. George North West,” said the for­mer Prime Min­is­ter.

“I ful­ly sup­port her lead­er­ship and have every con­fi­dence in her abil­i­ty to lead with strength, em­pa­thy and deep love for the peo­ple of Grena­da, Car­ri­a­cou & Pe­tite Mar­tinique,” said the re­lease which an­nounced that Em­ma­lin Pierre who be­came the first fe­male Po­lit­i­cal Leader of the NNP in De­cem­ber 2024 will as­sume the role of Leader of the Op­po­si­tion.

A post on her face­book page con­firmed that she has ac­cept­ed the role to be the sec­ond fe­male to be the Leader of the Op­po­si­tion in the Par­lia­ment. “As I step in­to the role of Leader of His Majesty’s Op­po­si­tion, I do so with a deep sense of re­spon­si­bil­i­ty and an un­wa­ver­ing com­mit­ment to con­tin­u­ing the work of ad­vo­cat­ing for the needs of our cit­i­zens,” she said.

“I pledge to up­hold the val­ues of in­tegri­ty, ser­vice, and ded­i­ca­tion that you have ex­em­pli­fied through­out your ca­reer. With the sup­port of our team, our par­ty, and, most im­por­tant­ly, the peo­ple of Grena­da, we will con­tin­ue to stand firm in de­fense of their in­ter­ests, en­sur­ing that their voic­es are heard and their needs are met,” said the post which paid grat­i­tude and trib­ute to Dr Mitchell.

“Dr. Mitchell, your lead­er­ship has been a guid­ing light, and your coun­sel will re­main in­valu­able as we forge ahead. On be­half of the peo­ple of Grena­da and the New Na­tion­al Par­ty, we thank you for your self­less ser­vice and un­wa­ver­ing ded­i­ca­tion,” she post­ed.

This is the sec­ond time that a fe­male has been ap­point­ed Leader of the Op­po­si­tion in Grena­da’s House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives.

The first was Win­nifred Stra­chan who served be­tween 1991-1995.