Friday calls on people to stand up for justice and democracy

Fresh elections are the primary objective of the New Democratic Party’s calls for Vincentians to continue protesting in the streets of Kingstown.

Protests have been taking place over a number of issues in St Vincent and the Grenadines since May. But the political party took centre stage this week at two protests on Tuesday and Thursday, encouraging people to come out and support the fight for justice and democracy.

“What you are coming for is that you are demanding that nothing less than fresh elections is going to save this country. You have a government in place now that didn’t get the majority of the support of the people so it’s a minority government that’s here,” Dr Godwin Friday, the Opposition Leader said on Wednesday evening via a video on Facebook.

After the General Elections of November 5, 2020 the Unity Labour Party (ULP) was returned to government for an unprecedented fifth consecutive term with a total of nine seats over the NDP’s six.

Despite the ULP increasing its margin of victory by one seat, the NDP gained the popular vote, by a margin of more than 400 votes.

 Friday, who was speaking one day after the first of the two protests this week, thanked people for heeding the call of the NDP and coming out to support the cause.

He said “Majority rules” – a slogan that was featured on several placards at this week’s protest. He added that people voted for the party they wanted to form government at the last election “Fresh elections is what we have as our primary objective in encouraging the people to stand up for their

democratic right so that the will of the people as expressed in the last election becomes manifest in the government that runs this country,” the NDP president said.

The Opposition Leader repeated his goal for fresh elections yesterday in the streets of Kingstown while surrounded by several protesters.

And he encouraged people to continue with protest action.

Friday said yesterday that the current government has tarnished democracy by stifling the voices of organisations “that would’ve stood up and voiced their opinions and stood up and demonstrated”.

He said this is now up to the NDP and he expressed pride in those who continue to stand firm with the party to achieve the goals they have set, one of which is to have fresh elections as soon as possible.