St. Vincent prime minister’s future in limbo amid dual citizenship case

The prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines could lose his job if a court now hearing a dual citizenship case rules that he is occupying the office illegally because he is also a Canadian citizen and swore allegiance to Canada.

Goodwin Friday, whose National Democratic Party (NDP) won 14 of the 15 parliamentary seats in general elections last November, is facing his sternest political and existential test now that the trial to determine whether he had breached constitutional rules has commenced in the small eastern Caribbean nation of 103,000.

Friday is in court alongside Foreign Minister Fitzgerald Bramble, who is also a Canadian dual citizen. Both are arguing that the constitution permits a person with citizenship from only a Commonwealth nation or former British colony to contest a local general election. The prosecution argues otherwise, saying that it is illegal, period. Friday’s defense team is also contending that the prime minister has never hidden his dual citizenship and that citizens had voted overwhelmingly for him well aware of this situation.

The court has set aside much of this week for hearings in the case, even as senior members of the governing NDP are lining up to replace him should the court determine that he is occupying the office illegally.

Frontrunners include Deputy Prime minister St. Clair Leacock, Tourism Minister Kishore Shallow, and Nigel Stephenson at transport, but the prime minister’s defense team is confident there will be no vacancy in the coming weeks.

“This is a very interesting election petition given the overwhelming mandate given by the people to the prime minister Friday and his government,” said lead Attorney Anand Ramlogan of Trinidad. “We are very confident about this matter. We feel that justice will prevail in the end and the honorable prime minister will be vindicated. He has never made it a secret that he holds dual citizenship and I think that the population voted for him knowing full well his democratic credentials.”

It is not clear whether the electoral commission will organize special elections to fill the seats, as many attorneys think the NDP will simply lose the seats until the next elections.