Prime Minister Godwin Friday has responded with dismissive humor to legal petitions filed by opposition candidates challenging both his election and that of Foreign Minister Fitz Bramble. The Unity Labour Party (ULP) claimants, Carlos Williams and Luke Browne, submitted their petitions on Thursday, arguing that the officials’ Canadian citizenship rendered them constitutionally ineligible for nomination in the November 27 general elections.
Both Friday and Bramble were born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines but acquired Canadian citizenship as adults. The ULP contends this represents an acknowledgment of allegiance to a foreign power, violating the nation’s constitution. However, the elected officials counter that constitutional provisions specifically accommodate Commonwealth citizens, permitting their electoral participation regardless of Vincentian citizenship status.
Prime Minister Friday, serving as Northern Grenadines representative since 2001, brushed off the challenges during the country’s inaugural VAT-free shopping day. ‘This is the Christmas season,’ he remarked to iWitness News. ‘The people gave us an overwhelming mandate, even after they campaigned about all the things that they wanted to raise.’ He added metaphorically: ‘The Grinch will not steal this Christmas from the people.’
The political context underscores the significance of these petitions: the New Democratic Party secured a historic victory in the November elections, winning all 15 parliamentary seats and ending the ULP’s 24-year governance. The VAT-free shopping initiative itself fulfilled an NDP campaign promise addressing the nation’s cost-of-living crisis, marking the first such tax relief since VAT implementation in 2007.