Barbados elects first president as it prepares to drop Queen as head of state

Caribbean nation elects governor general to new role prior to former British colony becoming a republic

Barbados has elected its first president with just weeks to go until the Caribbean island becomes a republic and ceases to recognise Queen Elizabeth as its head of state.

The island's governor general, Dame Sandra Mason, was elected almost unanimously by the former British colony's parliament on Wednesday, with only one member declining to vote.