The Constitution of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2026, have reappeared on the House of Assembly Order Paper for Thursday, July 2, listed for their first reading. Both bills are tabled by Prime Minister Dr. Godwin Friday in his capacity as Minister of Legal Affairs and Justice.

The reintroduction comes roughly two months after the Friday government shelved the same bills in late April following an unprecedented wave of public opposition, legal criticism, and pressure from Opposition Leader Ralph Gonsalves. It also comes weeks before a High Court hearing, set for July 28, 29, and 30, where arguments will be heard on election petitions challenging whether Friday and Bramble were constitutionally eligible to contest the November 27, 2025 general elections.

The proposed legislation would effectively resolve the legal question in the government’s favor by declaring Commonwealth nations, including Canada, not to be “foreign powers” under SVG law, and would make that redefinition retroactive to October 27, 1979, the date the current Constitution came into effect.

With 14 of the 15 seats in the House of Assembly, the New Democratic Party government would not need a single opposition vote to pass the bills into law.

The April Firestorm

When the bills first appeared on the Order Paper in April, Gonsalves described them as an assault on the separation of powers and called on Vincentians to mobilize against what he characterized as an attempt by the government to “usurp the role of the court.” He wrote to media editors warning of a “grave and unfolding threat” to SVG’s democratic foundations, noting that there was no precedent in the country’s history for amending the Constitution with one week’s notice, without public consultation, without opposition engagement, and without any formal explanation from the Prime Minister or Attorney General.

Gonsalves also pointed to a significant political irony: one of the proposals in the 2009 constitutional reform referendum was to allow dual citizens to run for elected office. Vincentians voted it down. The NDP, including Friday himself, actively campaigned against that provision at the time.

The government initially responded by insisting the bills were meant to “clarify an ambiguity” and would not affect the pending petitions. Prime Minister Friday said on April 21 that the bills would not be debated that day, and that they would be referred to a select committee for broader public input. Days later, in what Gonsalves declared a victory, the government withdrew both bills from the legislative agenda entirely.

Back Without Consultation

There is no public record of the select committee process being completed, no report published, and no formal public consultation conducted in the weeks between the bills’ withdrawal and their reappearance on the July 2 Order Paper. Vincypowa News has found no government statement explaining the re-tabling or its timing.

What has changed is the proximity to the court date. The High Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the election petitions on July 28, 29, and 30 of this year. If the bills are passed before those arguments are heard, the legal landscape governing the petitions would be altered retroactively, potentially rendering the court proceedings moot.

Former parliamentary speaker Jomo Thomas, commenting on the original tabling in April, said the move suggested the government lacked confidence in its legal position. “If they’re now doing this, it seems as though they lack confidence in their case,” he said at the time.

What the Court Will Decide

The central legal question before the court is whether Canada qualifies as a “foreign power” under Section 26 of the SVG Constitution. The government has argued that because Canada is a Commonwealth country, the allegiance sworn during naturalization does not disqualify a person from serving in Parliament. The opposition contends that the plain language of the Constitution, combined with the voluntary nature of Friday and Bramble’s naturalization as adults, makes them ineligible.

If the court rules against Friday and Bramble, their elections would be nullified and by-elections would have to be held in the Northern Grenadines and East Kingstown constituencies.

The question now before the public is whether Parliament will act before the court gets the chance to answer.