By Ashford Peters
The legal team for the opposition Unity Labour Party (ULP) in its challenge of the election of Prime Minister Godwin Friday and Foreign Minister Dwight Fitzgerald Bramble in the November 2025 general election says the petitioners intend to call Canadian citizenship experts to testify.
The legal team for the two government MPs and other government officials named in the lawsuit gave a similar indication to the court during Thursday’s case management hearing in Kingstown before the trial judge, Justice Gertel Thom, saying they intend to call expert witnesses.
Both teams, however, could not tell the court exactly how many expert witnesses they intend to call, saying that this depends on the evidence that is presented.
The ULP’s Northern Grenadines candidate in the November 2025 polls, Carlos Williams, is seeking to have the court rule that his opponent, Friday, did not qualify to be a candidate because he obtained Canadian citizenship and that this contravenes SVG’s Constitution.
In the other petition, ULP East Kingstown candidate Luke Browne is seeking to have the court rule similarly against Bramble, arguing that although Canada is a Commonwealth nation, it is still a foreign power or state.
The SVG Constitution says in section 25, “Subject to the provisions of section 26 of this
Constitution, a person shall be qualified to be elected as a representative if, and shall not be so qualified unless, he-
“a. is a Commonwealth citizen of the age of twenty-one years or upwards …”
Section 26, which speaks to “Disqualifications for Representatives and Senators”, says:
“(1) No person shall be qualified to be elected or appointed as a Representative or Senator (hereinafter in this section referred to as a member) if he-
“a. is by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state, …”
In the election petition cases, the issues to be considered are:
- Whether Canada is interpreted to be a foreign power or state; and
- How and when Friday and Bramble obtained their citizenship.
If it is determined that Canada is not a foreign power or state, then it doesn’t matter how the citizenship is acquired, as the court will not consider a Vincentian who also holds Canadian citizenship as being under acknowledgement of allegiance of a foreign power, and therefore not qualified to contest elections.
A preliminary point is the question of what is the correct construction of the disqualification provision, in that if it is that Canada is not a foreign power or state within the meaning of the constitutional provision, then there is no need to consider anything else beyond that, because the rest of the petition is hinged on that issue.
During the case management hearing in Kingstown, former Trinidad and Tobago prime minister Stuart Young, SC, a lead lawyer for the petitioners’ legal team, made an application for disclosure of the Forms 2 and 3, for both Friday and Bramble.
Form 2 is the nomination form, signed by both candidates and Form 3 is the statutory declaration that was signed by both candidates.
The court ordered that disclosure be made on or before March 12, 2026.
According to the filings, Friday and Bramble were not born Canadians and have acknowledged that they obtained Canadian citizenship “by their very own act”.
Young said that, in his view, there should not be much dispute about the fact that Friday and Bramble obtained Canadian citizenship, but much depends on what is put before Justice Gertel Thom, the trial judge.
He said the issue is really about the court’s interpretation of Sections 25 and 26(1)(8) of the Constitution.
Stuart told the court that it is not in dispute that Friday and Bramble were not born in Canada but obtained citizenship “by their very own act”, adding that the question that arises is, “How did they attain that citizenship?”
The petitioners’ legal team requested and was granted three weeks to file additional evidence.
The respondents’ legal team requested, and was granted, eight weeks to file their evidence.
The next case management hearing is slated for May 19, 2026.
Justice Thom has cautioned that applications, including interlocutory applications, if any, must be filed before the next case management.
The court has set aside July 28, 29, and 30 as trial dates.
The judge cautioned that the dates provided must be kept as she intends to hear the matters “expeditiously” during a joint trial.
It is the first time any petition has been brought against Friday, who has won the Northern Grenadines seat in all six elections over the past quarter-century, 2001-2025.
The November 2025 election was the second unsuccessful attempt by Williams to unseat Friday.
Browne failed to win the East Kingstown in 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2025, with Bramble defeating him in the last two elections.
Ahead of the November 2025 general elections, notices were published in the media, urging constituents not to vote for either candidate.
The respective notices to constituents of Northern Grenadines and East Kingstown said that voting for the NDP candidate in each of those constituencies amounted to “A WASTED VOTE”.
The notices said each of the candidates “is not qualified to be elected as a member of Parliament”, and pointed to section 26 (1) of the SVG Constitution, which says:
“No person shall be qualified to be elected or appointed as a Representative or Senator (hereinafter in this section referred to as a “member”) if he —
(a) is by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state”.
The notices pointed out that the statutory declaration that a candidate is required to sign states:
“That I am duly qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly for this constituency, and that — … I am not by virtue of my own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state”.
The notices pointed out that the statutory declaration that a candidate is required to sign states:
“That I am duly qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly for this constituency, and that — … I am not by virtue of my own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state”.
The notices pointed out that Friday and Bramble are each Canadian citizens.
“Canada is a foreign state,” the notices said, adding that such citizenship was not forced on Friday or Bramble.
“He voluntarily applied for and obtained Canadian citizenship and a Canadian passport, and he has been using the passport. He was therefore on nomination day under an acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign state namely, Canada, by virtue of his own act of applying for Canadian citizenship and a Canadian passport, and the using of the passport. He is therefore absolutely disqualified from being elected as a member of the House of Assembly,” the notices said.
They said that, in each case, an objection by electors of the Northern Grenadines and East Kingstown, respectively, was lodged to his nomination on Nov. 10, 2025 — Nomination Day.
Sour grapes, ULP. I hope this situation is resolved soon so the government can focus on addressing the country’s real challenges. It should also examine Ralph Gonsales’s overreach and ensure he is held accountable.
DIE BY FIRE ULP, TEK UR LICKS AND REST URSELF.
Waste of money! Citizenship Experts cannot supersede the constitution and it’s literal interpretation. The issue is a legal interpretation of the sections (albeit, I see no legal issue because it’s clear).
Both sides really have money to waste!
It is sad and a shame to see how Vincentians behave. I thought when ULP was the government, we were for upholding the law and the constitution. Now that NDC is in power, all this is out the window, and seeking to ensure that our leaders are duly and legally elected amounts to sour grapes. The same whip used for beating the black horse will be used to beat the white horse. Be careful what you uphold and support today. If the men are dual citizens, they need to renounce their second citizenships. Anand Ramlogan, known as the goat man in Trinidad, knows that, but he was part of the most corrupt government in that country’s history.
The National Liberation Movement awaits the outcome of this case.
So tell me something someone who was born in a foreign state and obtains Vincentian citizenship is more eligible to represent our people than a born Vincentian who obtains foreign citizenship??? I hope this layman’s understanding is wrong- this is madness. If so, this constitution needs amendment – Law was made for man and not man for the Law…
I want to point out something very poignant. these two candidates won more than one general election with no one opposing their Canadian citizenship before. Why is that an issue? Would it change anything because the last time I checked it was 14-1 so let’s say they opposition’s challenge was successful, NDP is still the majority so it would be futile.