Gonsalves rejects claim election petitions against PM Friday are frivolous

Opposition Leader Ralph Gonsalves has rejected claims that two election petitions challenging the nominations of Prime Minister Godwin Friday and Foreign Affairs Minister Dwight Fitzgerald Bramble are frivolous, insisting the matter raises serious constitutional questions.

The petitions, now before the High Court in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, challenge the nominations of both men as candidates in the November 27 general elections last year.

Following the first case management hearing last Thursday, Friday—whose New Democratic Party (NDP) won a decisive 14–1 victory over the opposition Unity Labour Party (ULP)—criticized the legal action, saying it was wasting public and court resources.

“The people elected me to do their business, I’m spending two hours in the court here answering a frivolous application,” Friday told reporters.

But Gonsalves, speaking on his weekly radio program, rejected that characterization.

“He was mouthing the word frivolous, but he knows it’s not frivolous… He knows that this is a serious matter to be addressed,” Gonsalves said.

The opposition leader referenced the aftermath of the 2015 elections, when the NDP, with Friday serving as a party vice-president, filed petitions and staged protests accusing the ULP of electoral misconduct.

“They had no case and the case crumbled, but they dragged it on,” Gonsalves said, adding that the NDP organized a group known as the “Frontline,” which he said harassed then Supervisor of Elections Sylvia Findlay-Scubb.

“The woman was verbally abused, words were thrown at her daily,” he said.

Gonsalves also accused the NDP of damaging the country’s reputation by claiming the 2015 election was not free and fair.

“People do not want to come to a place that reeks of political instability. That is what we had to endure for five years. So, don’t get amnesia on Friday. Don’t forget what people like yourself instigated and supported for five years,” he said.

At the same time, Gonsalves said the ULP does not intend to prolong the current court proceedings and that the petitioners want the case resolved quickly.

“And we will have a determination not too long from now, first at the High Court and then whichever side loses, will go to the Court of Appeal, and whatever the Court of Appeal says, that will be it,” he said.

Lawyers representing both sides say they are prepared for the case to proceed.

Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan, the former attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago who is leading the legal team for Friday and Bramble, described the case management hearing as “an interesting, if not amusing experience.”

“The mandate given to the newly elected prime minister is overwhelming, and this is an attempt by the petitioners to effect change, other than by the democratic process,” he said.

However, attorney Stuart Young, who is leading the legal team for the petitioners, said the matter raises significant constitutional issues.

“Well, this matter for Vincentians is a serious matter, and what is being determined by the court really is an interpretation of your constitutional provisions and the qualification, or the disqualification to stand as a candidate for elections,” Young said.

“So it’s quite an important provision that is finally going to be determined by the court.”

Young added that the judge has set a tight timetable for the case, with the trial scheduled to run from July 28 to 30.

One of the petitions was filed by ULP candidate Augustus Carlos Williams, who contested the Northern Grenadines seat in the 2025 elections. His petition challenges Friday’s nomination as well as the actions of returning officer Devon Ollivierre and Supervisor of Elections Dora James. As is standard in election matters, the attorney general is also listed as a respondent.

In a separate case, Luke Browne has challenged the nomination of Bramble and the actions of the returning officer Jacqueline Browne, the supervisor of elections and the attorney general.

caribbeannationalweekly.com