St. Vincent PM accuses Trinidadians of interfering ahead of Thursday’s general election

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves is alleging that at least eight lawyers and activists from Trinidad and Tobago have entered the country to assist the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) in the final stretch before Thursday’s Nov. 27 general election. His ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP) is seeking a historic sixth consecutive term.

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Speaking at a ULP youth rally, Gonsalves said he had “the printout of eight lawyers, activists from Trinidad,” claiming the NDP brought them in “to work on election day, and between now and election day.” The prime minister, 79, told supporters he plans to publish their photographs “so that the people will see those who have come in from Trinidad who want to be engaged in a process to see if they can interfere and to try, in some way, to distort and undermine our electoral democracy…”

He insisted the individuals were “Trinidadians coming to interfere with our electoral process,” adding that anyone working in St. Vincent and the Grenadines without a work permit or CARICOM Skills Certificate would be operating illegally. “So, if you come here and do any work for the NDP, you are working here illegally, that is a criminal offense,” he said. While he claimed to welcome them with “Labour love,” Gonsalves stressed they could not enter polling stations or linger around them. “St. Vincent and the Grenadines is not Tunapuna, is not Curepe, is not Penal, is not San Fernando is not Mauva, it is not Lavantille.”

Gonsalves later read out the names of the Trinidadians, accusing the NDP of “low-down worthlessness” and suggesting the party had tried to “block road from people coming to a rally” and prevent Jamaican artiste Masicka from performing. He said their actions reflected “bad-mindedness against everything that is progressive and good that this government has tried to do since 2001.”

The prime minister argued that only nationals from Barbados, Dominica, or Belize—countries that recently completed freedom of movement arrangements under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME)—could work in St. Vincent and the Grenadines without additional documentation. “Well, you could have come and work without work permit, and you could have come and work without a CARICOM skills National Certificate. I’m telling you the law you know. You are lawyers, you should know it.”

He dismissed suggestions the Trinidadians were merely volunteering. “The fact that you give free service doesn’t mean you ain’t working,” he said, pointing to accommodation, food and transportation as forms of remuneration under local law. “Politically, their involvement here is unacceptable,” he added, warning those involved that they must comply with national laws and may face directives from the supervisor of elections.

Gonsalves thanked Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who recently stated her United National Congress (UNC) had not sanctioned anyone to participate in the campaign in St. Vincent or St. Lucia. “She says she ain’t interfering in anybody else election. And I thank her for saying that, and I believe her… because I think she’s an honest woman.”

However, he questioned why “UNC financiers” would send others to St. Vincent, claiming they were seeking “cheap land,” and access to “the port” and “a hospital where they want privatised,” adding that they want to “buy this election.”

In the last general election, the ULP secured nine of the 15 seats in Parliament.