The National Monitoring and Consultative Mechanism (NMCM), which monitors general elections in St. Vincent and the Grenadines as well as the two political parties in the country, say they have received no reports of political violence as the campaign continues for the Nov. 27 polls.
A report by a local news outlet a few weeks ago said that 19 vehicles were damaged in an alleged missile-throwing incident in North Windward.
Shortly after that, the police issued a statement against political violence but did not mention any confirmed incidents or reports of violence linked to the polls.
On Tuesday, the ruling Unity Labour Party (ULP) and the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) signed the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Christian Council NMCM Code of Ethical Political Conduct for the 2025 General Election in Kingstown.
Fielding questions from iWitness News, NMCM Coordinator Godfrey E. Samuel said the NMCM had not received any reports of election violence from individuals or political parties.
“No. I think what we saw is like on social media, but in terms of a direct complaint, we have not yet received that,” Samuel said.
Augustine Ferdinand, who signed on behalf of the ULP, said that his party had. Not received any reports of violence, but its campaign billboards had been vandalised.
“… we have seen some of our billboards defaced, or they’re being destroyed, to an extent,” he said, adding that a ULP campaign billboard in Bequia was burnt while another outside Windsor Primary School, in Montrose, was ripped.
“There’s another one before the Lowmans Cemetery, where the bottom part of that is also ripped. So those are what we are seeing evidently, in the public, there’s usual banter, but for the most part of it, most of our billboard properties in those three areas, I know, were defaced.”
On Tuesday afternoon, iWitness News observed that two ULP billboards at Grand Gate, Lowmans Hill, were damaged, but could not determine the cause.
Ferdinand said that the police knew of the situation and were investigating the damage done in Bequia and New Montrose.
Meanwhile, Cummings told iWitness News that the NDP had not received any direct report of physical or other violence but had seen an allegation on social media.
“I think most people have seen an incident where a lady claimed that she sustained a wound somewhere on her forehead as a consequence of her having switched her political allegiance. That’s the extent to which I have seen, certainly.
Cummings, who is seeking re-election to a fourth consecutive term as MP for West Kingstown, said he was pleased that the parties are generally not defacing the country.
“For too many elections, we see in the streets littered with ugly signs that take years to go away; walls looking like some parts of Harlem.”
He said that generally, the political parties are using material that can be easily removed after the election and not deface the country.
“And that, for me, is a significant improvement. And I think the National Monitoring and Consulting Mechanism over the years has had an influence on this,” he said.
The code of conduct says, “27. Political parties and their representatives shall not deface public buildings, walls, streets and structures. The rights of private property owners shall be respected.”
Cummings said VINLEC, the power company, has asked political parties not to cover pole numbers with their election paraphernalia.
“And we are scrupulous in adherence to this because we understand the importance of not covering up the pole numbers so that VINLEC and others can have access to the information contained in that.”
Regarding the damaged ULP billboards, Cummings said:
“Well, we would say, if we knew anything about it. We have had no reports. … we have no idea what has caused it, or who’s been able to do it,” Cummings said.
“I know that the government has cameras all over the country, so one would hope that they would be able to determine who these culprits are and prosecute them to the fullest extent, because that is not something that we as a political party agree with, subscribe to, or in any way condone. We want all the candidates to have free access to the members of the public.”
On Tuesday evening, the RSVG Police Force appealed to all citizens to uphold peace, tolerance, and respect as the country moves toward general elections.
“The Force has also observed rising political tension and urges everyone to prevent disagreements from turning hostile. All reports of threats, intimidation, or violence will be investigated swiftly and impartially, and offenders prosecuted according to law.”