Barbados has elected its first President. The island nation prepares to become a republic later this month, and remove Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state.
Dame Sandra Mason, who has been the governor-general of Barbados since 2018, will be sworn in as President on 30 November, the 55th anniversary of Barbadian independence from the United Kingdom.
Mason was elected without a challenger in the Barbadian parliament, with 27 of the 28 members of Barbados’s House of Assembly voting for Mason as President, and 18 of the 20 senators. One member of the House of Assembly abstained, as did two senators.
Barbados began moves to become a republic last year and this will be finalised later this month.
Once Barbados becomes a republic, the Queen will be the head of state of fifteen countries.