St Vincent prime minister Goodwin Friday's future in balance as dual citizenship case begins
Friday and Foreign Minister Fitzgerald Bramble, both Canadian citizens, argue the constitution allows Commonwealth dual nationals to contest elections.
KINGSTOWN, St Vincent. The prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines could lose his job if a court hearing a dual citizenship case rules that he holds 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 last November's general elections, faces his sternest test as the trial to determine whether he breached constitutional rules gets under way in the eastern Caribbean nation of 103,000 people.
The arguments
Friday is in court alongside Foreign Minister Fitzgerald Bramble, who is also a Canadian dual citizen. Both argue that the constitution permits a person who holds citizenship of a Commonwealth nation or former British colony to contest a general election.
The prosecution argues that it is illegal, without exception. Friday's defence also contends that he has never hidden his dual citizenship and that voters backed him overwhelmingly knowing this.
The court has set aside much of this week for hearings.
Possible successors
Senior members of the governing NDP are lining up to replace Friday should the court rule against him. Frontrunners include Deputy Prime Minister St Clair Leacock, Tourism Minister Kishore Shallow and Transport Minister Nigel Stephenson.
The prime minister's lawyers, however, are 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 feel that justice will prevail in the end and the honourable 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," Ramlogan added.
What happens next
It is unclear whether the electoral commission would organise special elections to fill any vacated seats. Many attorneys believe the NDP would simply lose the seats until the next elections.
