Opposition Leader Ralph Gonsalves has emphatically rejected Prime Minister Godwin Friday’s characterization of High Court petitions against him and Foreign Minister Dwight Fitzgerald Bramble as “frivolous,” asserting instead that they represent matters of profound constitutional importance. The legal challenges, which question the eligibility of both officials to hold parliamentary seats due to their Canadian citizenship, have sparked a heated exchange between government and opposition figures.
Gonsalves, speaking during his weekly Star Radio broadcast, countered the Prime Minister’s complaints about judicial time consumption by invoking historical precedent. He referenced the 2015 general elections when Friday’s New Democratic Party (NDP) filed similar petitions and organized protests alleging electoral theft by Gonsalves’ Unity Labour Party (ULP). “They had no case and the case crumbled, but they dragged it on,” Gonsalves remarked, highlighting what he characterized as NDP’s prolonged challenges despite ultimately unsuccessful outcomes.
The opposition leader further accused NDP of establishing a harassment campaign against then-Supervisor of Elections Sylvia Findlay-Scubb through a group called “Frontline,” alleging daily verbal abuse that damaged the nation’s investment appeal by creating perceptions of political instability. “People do not want to come to a place which reeks of political instability,” Gonsalves stated, directly addressing Friday: “Don’t get amnesia as to what persons like yourself instigated and supported for a period of five years.”
Despite this historical context, Gonsalves committed to expediting the current proceedings, noting petitioners have instructed legal counsel to move expeditiously through judicial channels. He anticipates determinations at both High Court and Court of Appeal levels in due course.
Prime Minister Friday presented a markedly different public demeanor following Thursday’s case management hearing, appearing unbothered as he exited the Kingstown High Court. When approached by media, he described the day as “beautiful” and “wonderful” while directing legal inquiries to government lead counsel Anand Ramlogan S.C. from Trinidad and Tobago.
The petitions, filed by claimants Williams and Browne, contend that Canadian citizenship constitutionally disqualifies both officials from parliamentary service—Friday as Northern Grenadines MP since 2001 and Bramble in his second term representing East Kingstown.