British Virgin Islands assembly votes "no confidence" vote against Premier Andrew Fahie

The British Virgin Islands House of Assembly has voted no-confidence in Premier Andrew Fahie, who is currently detained in the United States, charged with drug trafficking and money laundering.

The passing of the motion filed by Acting Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley on May 5th means Fahie has been deposed as Premier, a position he has held since his Virgin Islands Party victory in February 2019, and the VIP government has been dissolved.

Earlier this week, Dr Wheatley, fighting to stop the imposition of direct rule by the UK, proposed the formation of a unity government to Governor John Rankin. This means members of the Opposition will now be a part of the Cabinet. The new government is set to be sworn in this afternoon.

Health and Social Development Minister Carvin Malone, along with Natural Resources and Labour Minister Vincent Wheatley and Speaker of the House of Assembly Julian Willock, have all stepped down as part of the shakeup.

Additionally, politicians on both sides of the hall have publicly distanced themselves from Fahie's legal troubles in Florida during the Second Sitting of the Fourth House of Assembly.

The BVI has been in a political crisis for nearly a week now, following Fahie's arrest on April 28th by Drug Enforcement Administration Agents at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport and the release of the 2021 Commission of Inquiry report, which recommended the partial suspension of government and for the United Kingdom to rule for a period of two years.

The highly critical 946-page report was done by retired British Judge Sir Garry Hickenbottom and listed 45 recommendations with four main ones. The COI was commissioned by former Governor Augustus Jaspert to look into government corruption and abuse of office.

Commissioner Hickenbottom stated that "unless the most urgent drastic steps are taken, the current situation with elected officials deliberately ignoring the tenets of good governance will go on indefinitely."

Fahie, along with Ports Authority Director Oleanvine Maynard and her son Kadeem Maynard, is charged with conspiring to import more than five kilos of cocaine into the United States and plotting to launder $700,000.

The no-confidence motion was presented after Fahie, over the last few days, ignored calls from both the ruling VIP and the Opposition to put the territory first and officially resign as Premier.

On May 4th, Fahie's defence strategy of using his position as a government official to secure his release on the grounds of diplomatic immunity failed when the judge noted that the BVI was not a sovereign state. The BVI is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom with the Queen as the head.

Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes, in an unusual move, rejected prosecutors' arguments that Fahie is a flight risk and ordered that the 51-year-old be released once the bail is paid in full and he agrees to wear an ankle monitor, lodges his and all his family's travel documents and remains in Miami at the rented house of his two daughters.

But federal prosecutors lodged an appeal, and Fahie's bond was put on hold. He remains in federal custody until the outcome of the appeal. The Maynards, too, remain in federal custody.

Fahie's lawyer is Miami-based Teresa van Vliet who worked at the US State Department of Justice as the chief of narcotics and senior litigation counsel, her website states.

Fahie, a former mathematics teacher, was first elected as District One representative in 1999 at the age of 28, a seat he has held continuously for 23 years. As a member of the VIP government, he has served as Minister for Health, Education and Welfare from 2000 to 2003 and Minister for Education and Culture from 2007 to 2011.

In 2016, Fahie became leader of the VIP, and three years later, on February 25th, 2019, he led his party to victory in the general election, breaking the National Democratic Party's winning streak. VIP won eight of 13 elected seats in the House of Assem