Undeterred by the result, Independent candidate Juanae Crockwell remains determined to push for systemic change
The overall performance of independent candidates in the General Election may have fallen short, but it has not discouraged some.
Independent candidate Juanae Crockwell, a community advocate and leader of the Women’s Resource Centre, has taken her loss in stride.
Despite a strong push for change, independents failed to secure seats, capturing less than 10% of the vote share.
However, Ms Crockwell, who stood for Constituency 31, Southampton West Central, sees the outcome as a step towards systemic change.
The numbers alone, however, raise questions. Did the independent movement have strategic shortcomings, or were voters simply not ready to move away from traditional party lines?
Ms Crockwell concedes that the latter may be the case.
“I think it was more; the voters were not ready… we still have work to do in helping the electorate to understand how a coalition government could work and what the benefits are. With the short timeline we had to do that, I think we did great,” she said.
In total, 26 independents entered the electoral race, but not one was elected to the House of Assembly.
Ms Crockwell remains optimistic, saying, “I don’t think that is a slight on any of the candidates or even, you know, the vision we have. Systemic change is a process, and I’ve said that throughout my entire campaign—that this is a process. So, if we’re looking only at the 2025 General Election result, we may view it as a failure for the ‘Independents Movement’, but I don’t look at it in that way because it’s so much bigger than February 18th.”
Some argue that having independents on the ballot may have split the Opposition vote, and while Ms Crockwell agrees, she suggests that, with more planning, the outcome could have been different.
“It split votes, it did. But I do think that with some more strategy, we may have been more successful or can be successful in the future,” she explained.
Ms Crockwell added that there is a growing number of people in the electorate who would like to see independent representation and expressed hope that it will gain momentum moving forward.
As for her own performance in C31, where it was a historic four-woman contest, Ms Crockwell secured 18.8 per cent of the vote share, coming in third place behind the PLP’s Crystal Ceasar and the OBA’s Linda Smith, who won the seat, flipping it from green to red.
Ms Crockwell took the loss in her stride, saying, “I felt really good because of what I was able to accomplish on the campaign trail. I came into this knowing that it would be an uphill battle, per se, as an independent candidate, and the relationships that I built or expanded on during the campaign—I look at that as the big success. To have 144 people put their X’s next to my name really meant something because I knew I worked hard for each of those votes. At the end of the count, of course, I was disappointed; it would be disingenuous to say I wasn’t disappointed, but not discouraged at all.”
Part of Ms Crockwell’s decision to enter politics was inspired by her late brother, Shawn Crockwell, who served as an independent in the House during his final months as an MP. She believes he would be proud of her choice to follow the independent route rather than align with a party.
Looking ahead, Ms Crockwell has pledged that her commitment to Southampton West Central will not falter. She plans to continue canvassing and is committed to pushing for systemic change and serving her country.
“I did make a commitment to the constituents of C31 that I would establish a community newsletter, which I have done. I have reached out to Linda Smith, who won the seat, and we do intend to meet so that I can continue to be active in the constituency. I also plan to get involved with the Southampton Parish Council. So really, for me, this is a way of life. Advocacy and service are just part of who I am and what I do, so I’m just going to continue to do that,” she said.
