FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2026
VOLUME 120, No. 17
$12m coke bust Page 4
www.thevincentian.com
Housing blues Page 8
Wanton destruction Page 10
EC$1.50
IHS celebrates 100 Pages 12&13
Gruesome killing Page 24
CONTROVERSIAL BILLS WITHDRAWN TEMPORARILY public debate on these two very important matters.” Dr. Friday was expected to table the Bills and he informed the parliament that draft legislation has already been prepared. The two Bills — the Constitution of St. Vincent and the grenadines (Amebndment ) Bill
2026, and the Representation of the People Act (Amendment) Bill 2026 - were list on the Order paper for the sitting of parliasment on April 21, 2026. The amendments sought to limit the definition of a “foreign power” to nonCommonwealth countries, which would protect the status of
officials with citizenship from the 56 Commonwealth nations. The decision to postpone the tabling of the two bills some observers say, could well have been prompted by the public outcry against dual citizenship involving Dr. Friday himself and his Foreign Affairs Minister, Fitzgerald Bramble.
The Prime Minister and MP Bramble face legal challenges in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court because they hold both Canadian and Vincentian citizenship. Petitions were filed against Dr. Friday and Bramble on the basis that both New Democratic Party (NDP) candidates ought to have been disqualified from being nominated to contest general elections, given that they hold Canadian citizenship. Continued on Page 3.
MOVE TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION BLASTED by WILLIAM ‘KOJAH’ ANTHONY
Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday withdrew two bills which he was expected to table at the April 21, 2025 sitting of parliament. by DAYLE DASILVA The government will not proceed with two controversial bills which propose to amend the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act (RPA), until there has been full public debate. This position was laid before a sitting of parliament on Tuesday
21sr April, 2026 by Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday, who described the reforms as matters of national importance that required wide (public) engagement. In that light, he told the parliament, “We will not be proceeding any further now at this point until we have had these full responses from the
THE PLAN TO AMEND this country’s Constitution and the People Representation Act has been delayed. The announcement was made amidst much anxiety last Tuesday by Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday, during a sitting of the Parliament. The announcement followed Opposition Leader Dr. Ralph Gonsalves addressing the issue at a press conference, held at the ULP Murray’s Road the previous day. Flanked by senators Carlos James and Keisal Peters, Dr. Gonsalves chided the ruling New Democratic Party administration for undermining “existing rules for nomination and election.” For Dr. Gonsalves there was a bundle of issues that affected “matters of popular democracy.” Continued on Page 3. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, now leader of the Opposition, wasted no time in condemning the bills as an affront to popular democracy.