Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has pledged that legal proceedings will be launched concerning opposition candidates who hold Canadian citizenship, as the campaign for the Nov. 27 general election continues.
Speaking at a rally for the ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP) on Tuesday night, Gonsalves confirmed that his party had challenged the nominations of opposition leader Godwin Friday and East Kingstown candidate Fitz Bramble, citing their Canadian citizenship.
Friday is seeking re-election in the Northern Grenadines constituency, having served since 2001; Bramble is vying for a second term in East Kingstown. Both were born in St Vincent and the Grenadines and became Canadian citizens as adults.
On his weekly radio programme, Gonsalves referenced Section 26 of the Constitution and Section 35 of the Representation of the People’s Act, which disqualify individuals who “by their own voluntary act, under the acknowledgement of allegiance or adherence to a foreign power or state” hold such status.
He noted that earlier regional jurisprudence — such as the case involving former St Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas — had made it clear that even the holding of a foreign‐nation passport may trigger disqualification.
According to Gonsalves, Friday admitted in Parliament to holding a Canadian passport, and Bramble reportedly told others he was a Canadian citizen and admitted this to the Returning Officer on Nomination Day.
While nomination documents for the two circulated on social media indicating objections, Friday said via video that his nomination was confirmed and he remains confident of his re-election.
Highlighting the legal dimension of the issue, Gonsalves stressed that “a reckoning will come in the law courts”, urging voters in East Kingstown and the Northern Grenadines not to “waste their vote”.
