Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has defended the selection of public service attorney general Grenville Williams as a candidate for the ruling party even as he maintains that Kishore Shallow, an opposition candidate in the same polls, should not continue to lead Cricket West Indies.
On Saturday, Gonsalves’ Unity Labour Party nominated Williams, who has been attorney general since 2022, as its candidate for South Leeward in the next general elections, widely expected by November.
Last September, the opposition New Democratic Party announced Shallow as its candidate for North Leeward in those same polls.
Williams was nominated as a candidate less than one week after Gonsalves launched yet another attack on Shallow since the announcement of his candidacy.
The PM said St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) had been promised that it would host games in the West Indies-Australia series this year and suggested that domestic politics had played any role in the reversal of that alleged promise.
However, Shallow dismissed those suggestions, saying in a statement on Monday that inadequate hotel accommodation options had worked against SVG adding that the country has been awarded other games this year and in 2026.
On Feb. 9, Gonsalves suggested that there was a conflict of interest in Shallow continuing as president of CWI while being a candidate in national elections in his home country.
But one week later, his party selected Williams as a candidate in those elections even as he continued to hold his public service post as the government’s chief legal advisor.
Asked on WE FM on Sunday whether he should not also have a problem with Williams being announced as a candidate, Gonsalves said, “No. The attorney general can be announced as a candidate.”
He noted the law passed in Parliament last year allowing public servants leave to contest local or national elections and to return to their posts if they lose.
The prime minister said that under this law, Williams and Kaschaka Cupid, the deputy comptroller of inland revenue, who is a candidate for the opposition, will be able to get leave to campaign.
“So, obviously, the selection of the candidates can’t be done only in that narrow window. It has to be done sometime before,” the prime minister said.
He said that since Independence, it has only been since his government came to office in 2001 that there has not been a political attorney general.
“Political attorneys general have had difficulties, like to say, an elected politician or somebody named as a senator who is a political attorney general.”
He mentioned Arthur Williams and Grafton Isaacs under the Milton Cato Labour government and Parnell Campbell, Carlyle Dougan, and Carl Joseph under the James Mitchell NDP administration.
“… that’s why we have sought under the ULP to have public service attorneys general, not political attorneys general,” Gonsalves said, noting that under his government, Williams was preceded by public service attorneys general Judith Jones-Morgan and Jaundy Martin.
Gonsalves, however, noted that his government does not allow its attorney general to speak in Parliament “though, in other countries, we have public service attorneys general, as was the practice in the colonial days, they allowed them to speak in Parliament”.
Asked about a public service attorney general campaigning for an election while holding his post, the prime minister said, “There’s nothing wrong with that.
“The difference with West Indies cricket is this: West Indies cricket is unifying across the region. I put the cricket West Indies president, in that regard, in a unifying position like the Secretary General of CARICOM or the OECS Director General, or the president of the CDB or the Vice Chancellor of the University.
“These are unifying institutions among disparate islands, and the suspicion would always arise that such a person will act in a manner which would be disuniting. And that is where the suspicion has arisen in relation to cricket West Indies not allocating games, having given the assurance for the Australia T20 tournament against West Indies, no games have been assigned to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”
Gonsalves said he was not “not suggesting at all that there’s any perfidy on the part of the President of cricket, West Indies.
“I’m just saying that a suspicion, which is natural, which will arise in those circumstances. And I’m not begrudging our sister territories, which have had games; not doing that at all. I’m making a separate point.”
He said he had raised the point with some CARICOM heads of government before.
“And I happen to know that [Guyana President] Irfaan Ali had raised it at the meeting with CARICOM and Cricket West Indies,” the prime minister said
“I’ve been so advised. I wasn’t there — that meeting — and I’m subject to correction. I think [Barbados Prime Minister] Mia Mottley either raised it formally or expressed it informally — her concern.
“And the overwhelming majority of people in the Caribbean, informed people, say that what Ralph is saying in this regard makes sense,” Gonsalves said.
That’s a colonialist in the flesh..what about our unique Caribbean civilization cumrod,where we can aspire( not you) to be all we can be as sons and daughters of this Caribbean civilization, or is this within the context and boundaries you set? Easier for Carlos to go to the moon than for him to win the NL seat. Big man you have to try and steal this one. A understand how you feel. The most desperate world boss.
ralph is like a bad ways pickney, when he can’t have things his way he throws a tantrum. He brings his bat to the village cricket match, they out him he takes his bat and go home, so no one else gets to play. As long as he gets things his way he will never act up. I can bet every cent I have in my name, that if Mr Shallow was running for ulp this would never have been a problem. In fact ralph would have defended him to the ends of the earth. Such a sore loser! No ethics, no morals, no standards, shameless man.
The old and aged Marxist communist Ralph Gonsalves is failing seeing his end getting closer, his conscience is bothering him.
Is there a “law” or “bylaw” that addresses this issue? If there is none, then your opinion doesn’t matter – keep it to yourself. What are you doing with Williams? There is a old saying that says – “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander”
De 3rd grade school yard bully again ? It’s my opinion that a toddler that never grew up can be very dangerous .
I wonder why Ralph Gonsalves feel that he and his government have all the rights in SVG ..
There is an old adage, that goes like this: “a drowning man will grasp a feather. “. I have never seen the Comrade so worried Dr Shallow has caused this man sleepless nights. The writing is on the wall. He realized that nortk Leeward (NL ) has gone. It was his own making of an environmental disaster. Should he looses NL, it will be said to be he author of his own misfortunes. Folks it is not all.well in.NL.
The entry of Shallow into politics has given thw Comrade sleepless nights. He is the real Supa Nova, a gatfly to the Comrade. He is a decent individual. I can’t expect him to be perfect because none of us is but always be humble and do.not stray is my recommendation to you.