The opposition New Democratic Party will not pursue legal action in relation to the outcome of the Nov. 5 general elections.
The Unity Labour Party won the elections by taking nine of the 15 parliamentary seats, even as the NDP won the popular vote.
Among the ULP’s seats is North Leeward, which was held by the NDP in the previous parliament and which the ULP won by one vote.
The ULP’s Carlos James was declared winner of the seat after an at-times, contentious 17-hour recount, and the NDP had hinted at legal action over the recount.
On Monday, as Parliament met for the first time since the vote, iWitness News asked NDP President and Opposition Leader Godwin Friday whether his party had considered or was considering legal action regarding the outcome in any of the constituencies.
“We have considered many of these things. We have considered legal action. We haven’t filed any legal action but this is primarily a political struggle and we are going to engage in this very vigorously because the people of the country have spoken, they have given us a majority of vote,” Friday said.
“We have a majority among the people; they (ULP) have a majority of the seats. That is not something that is stable in our system of government so we have to work to bring the system back into full democratic functioning, which is to say [that]the party that the majority of the people select should form government,” the opposition leader told iWitness News.
Filing the law suit should have been a part of the political struggle. As usual NDP political leadership has no strategic vision. They are weak all round, that is why they don’t know their heads from their arses. If they could not have put up a political struggle with a one seat different how can they mount one with a two seat different? If they didn’t brought out the people on the streets on November 6 when are they going to bring them out?
Like ULP, NDP has lost its usefulness and should start planning its exit strategy from the political scene in this country. They are no more fit for purpose as ULP. I will rather sit on my vote instead of giving it to NDP, again.
Filing a case is another time wasting gesture. Any case against the government of the day and Ralph Gonsalves in particular will either not see the light of day or it will take years of red tape before it reaches the courtroom where it will again spend years in limbo.
Sadly, but the fact is the judicial system as operated in SVG does not gain the confidence of its citizens. Very sad indeed!
The NDP loss the election. The people of Saint and the Grenadines has spoken.