“Foreign Money in Our Elections”: PM questions NDP’s EC$2.4M fleet ahead of polls

St Vincent and Grenada: Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has raised a serious concern over the opposition New Democratic party’s (NDP) acquisition of 16 new vehicles ahead of the upcoming election.

The PM alleged that this multimillion-dollar purchase has been financed by overseas companies with vested interests, seeking to buy Vincentian passports and citizenship.

He stated in a political meeting held in Canouan, opposition party’s each vehicle costs over EC$150,000, which amounts to EC$2.4 million in total, a figure he argued far exceeds what local party resources could sustain.

He further argued that the funding is linked to the individuals and companies who are eager to gain profit from passport sales, while including Chinese entities. He also notes that these Chinese entities are pressuring St Vincent and the Grenadines to end their diplomatic recognition of Taiwan and switch its allegiance to China.

Ralph Gonsalves also warned the public while telling them that “the opposition party is accepting the foreign campaign financing in exchange for a promise to establish a Citizenship By Investment (CBI) program that would specifically sell passports to Chinese entities and potentially switch diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China.”

Along with this he also told the people that the government only allows 20 vehicles to each party during the election regulations and if someone has the above numbers of vehicles, then that simply means they are not following the rules and regulations.

These claims of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves put a new dimension in front of the general public who will be casting their votes. It also urged debate among the public as well as parties over the elections financing and the future of the country.

At the end Gonsalves urged the public to cast their important votes to the party who deserves to win and who will work for them in future.