BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (CMC) — Prime Minister Mia Mottley will lead the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) into the next general election, after all, she announced Saturday night.

Speaking at a BLP rally to celebrate the party’s St James North by-election victory, the 59-year-old leader told supporters that although she said in 2022 that the current term would be her last, the gravity of national and global challenges and the widespread appeals from citizens across the country had compelled her to remain.

“In 2022, I told you that that would be my last time. I did so because I had just gone through…six or seven months of true stress,” Mottley said, referencing the emotional strain she endured after the death of her brother. “I came to understand that true leadership is never about comfort. It is about calling, it is about timing, and it is about service.”

Mottley told the gathering that over the past year, and especially in recent weeks, she has been urged by members of her party, civil society, the private sector, the labour movement, constituents and other citizens to remain in leadership.

Citing the weight of global instability—from wars in Ukraine and Gaza to tensions in the Indo-Pacific and the climate crisis—Mottley said Barbados must not be left adrift amid turbulent times.

“And if you add to that an opposition that resembles more of a pressure group than a political party of 70 years, this country of ours deserves stability and steadiness,” she said, taking aim at the Democratic Labour Party (DLP).

The prime minister also stressed that Barbados is still in a period of national transformation that began when the BLP took office in 2018. She noted that the first year and a half of her second term, which began with the 2022 snap election, was still heavily focused on managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is no doubt that the water is still choppy,” she said. “I came to the conclusion a few weeks ago that this is no longer a personal decision, but it is a decision of duty.”

She reiterated her commitment to improving the lives of Barbadians and continuing to lead a now seasoned team of ministers: “Everything I have done in public life has been to try to make the lives of Bajans better, to fight injustice…and to make this country the best that it can be.”

Mottley, who became Barbados’ first female prime minister in 2018 and led the BLP to a second consecutive clean sweep of all 30 parliamentary seats in 2022, said she believes her team is now more prepared than ever to deliver the transformation the country needs.

Declaring her continued commitment to the people of Barbados and her St Michael North East constituency, she ended her address with a clear statement of intent: “I will stay with you. I will stand with you.”