“This general election will be one for the books.”
That sentiment has been echoed in shops and across social media as Saint Lucians gear up for another round at the polls, with one constituency topping the conversation, Castries North.
Once a fortress of the United Workers Party (UWP), the seat could very well now move to any of the options facing the electorate. With three strong contenders: an experienced incumbent, a UWP hopeful, and an independent newcomer, voters are facing one of the most competitive elections in decades.
For the better part of 40 years, Stephenson King has been the man at the helm of Castries North. Calm, measured, and deeply familiar to his constituents, King is the only political veteran whose career stretches back to 1987, wearing many hats, including minister and party leader of the United Workers’ Party. King even served as Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, stepping into the role after the death of Sir John Compton in 2007.
But in 2021, just before the last general election, King stunned the nation when he walked away from the UWP, a move no one saw coming. According to him, the party’s morale had diminished, and he could no longer serve his country in that manner, so he ran as an independent candidate.
Supporters rallied around him, forming what became known as the “Blue Wave”. Strategically, the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) originally chose not to contest the Castries North seat, effectively giving King a clear lane. The decision split voters but helped him cruise to a landslide victory against the UWP’s last-minute candidate, Jeannine Giraudy-McIntyre, and he was handed a seat in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre.
As the next general election seemingly draws closer, King once again finds himself in a fight, this time against two determined challengers who are promising change and a fresh start for Castries North.
The UWP has placed its hopes in Stephen Fevrier, a name that’s beginning to stir curiosity across the island. However, Fevrier isn’t your typical political newcomer. In an interview with St. Lucia Times it became clear that Fevrier is a man with deep roots, global experience, and, as he puts it, “a burning belief in doing better”.
“I think, as a young boy, I never excelled academically,” he admitted shyly. “But I always believed that, notwithstanding my performance, I could still achieve. I started doing better, went on to do my undergraduate degree and my master’s, got into diplomacy, and made a career of it.”
Fevrier’s story begins with humble beginnings and a home built on faith and discipline.
“My father was a quiet, soft-spoken pastor who lived by example,” he said. “My mother was a go-getter, fierce, persistent, someone who could broker a good deal. From them, I learned integrity and drive.”
His academic journey took him from Saint Lucia to Canada, where he earned an honours degree in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario, followed by a Law degree from the University of London, and a master’s in International Commercial Law from the University of Westminster.
Fevrier’s professional life reads like a passport full of stamps. He has represented Saint Lucia across continents, working with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, CARICOM in Belgium, and the Commonwealth Secretariat in the South Pacific. But now, he says, he’s ready to pour that experience into home soil.
“Castries North is one of the more underserved constituencies,” he said thoughtfully. “We’re right next to the capital, the airport, the seaport, and the biggest tourism hub, yet there’s precious little economic activity here. I want to change that.”
Fevrier tends to believe that politics isn’t about position. It’s about people.
And it’s something he says he learned from one of Saint Lucia’s greatest leaders.
“I was always inspired by Sir John,” Fevrier recalled. “I once asked him, ‘Are you a capitalist or a socialist?’ He looked at me and said, ‘Son, when you’re a small, poor country, you don’t have the luxury of choosing. You just have to do what’s best for your country.’ That’s always stayed with me.”
Then there’s Marcellus Stiede, an independent challenger and proud son of La Clery’s soil whose face might be more familiar on the basketball court than the campaign trail. But for Stiede, sports and leadership have always gone hand in hand.
A former professional basketball player and coach with a master’s in Business Management, Stiede has helped dozens of young Saint Lucians secure sports scholarships abroad. In an interview with St. Lucia Times, he said he now thinks it’s time to bring that same drive into public service.
“One of the things we really have to stop doing is the culture of begging,” Stiede said passionately. “Politicians have created a culture of begging. Everything now is, you have to go to the minister. There are no systems, no accountability, no transparency. Everything is done in secret.”
He believes Castries North has suffered from neglect and short-term fixes that only come around during election season.
“The health centre is crumbling, it’s dirty, the fields and courts are not tended to,” he said bluntly. “Everything is done right before the elections to fool people. That’s the kind of culture that’s been happening here.”
If elected, Stiede says his main focus will be sports and youth development. He believes the community has the talent and energy to build its own opportunities, and he wants to create the framework to make that happen.
“The La Clery football team is one of the top teams in the country,” he said. “That shows the potential we have here. Imagine if we actually invested in it?”
For decades, Castries North has been largely loyal to one man. But this time, the conversation feels different.
King remains a respected figure, one whose name still carries immense weight, and he has undoubtedly gone to bat for his constituents. In a recent interview with Rev-Up SLU, King said, “When you look at my legacy, and my legacy I can say is second to none, people understood who Stephenson King is, people understood what I stand for and I’m not coming out there to bluff them…”
However, Fevrier and Stiede represent a new era, men with different paths, different callings, and one shared goal to make Castries North better.
The coming election promises to be one of the most talked-about in Saint Lucia’s recent history. The island is watching, and so is the region. Because while every constituency matters, Castries North has become the symbol of what’s at stake: Experience versus innovation, loyalty versus new vision, and independence versus party power.
Whatever happens, though, one thing remains certain. “This general election will be one for the books.”
