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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRIDGETOWN 000085 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAR AND WHA/OAS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM VC XL
SUBJECT: ST. VINCENT OPPOSITION CHALLENGES ELECTION RESULTS 
 
REF: A. 05 BRIDGETOWN 2417 
     ¶B. 05 BRIDGETOWN 2394 
     ¶C. 05 BRIDGETOWN 2377 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  St. Vincent and the Grenadines opposition 
New Democratic Party (NDP) has challenged the outcome of the 
nation's December 7, 2005, election, in which the ruling 
Unity Labor Party (ULP) won 12 Parliamentary seats to the 
NDP's 3.  Charging that voting irregularities could have 
altered the outcome in three close races that went to the 
ULP, the NDP has held a series of public demonstrations and 
dramatically walked out of the opening day of Parliament to 
protest the election results.  A local NGO joined the 
opposition in criticizing international election observers, 
saying that representatives of CARICOM and the OAS were not 
in St. Vincent long enough to thoroughly observe the 
electoral process nor to declare the election free and fair. 
Critics, meanwhile, have called for the NDP and its 
supporters to accept the election results.  The opposition, 
however, is unlikely to do so and is sure to continue its 
protest in an attempt to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 
Government of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves.  End summary. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Opposition Challenges Election Results 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Citing an "unprecedented level of irregularities," the 
opposition NDP has challenged the results of St. Vincent's 
December 7 election, which returned the ruling ULP to power. 
Despite pre-election predictions that PM Gonsalves's 
governing party could lose up to three races for 
Parliamentary seats (reftel C), the ULP succeeded in 
maintaining its 12 to 3 majority over the NDP (reftel A). 
The opposition, however, has claimed that irregularities 
could have affected the outcome in three extremely close 
races it lost by only 35, 24, and 16 votes, respectively.  In 
each of the contested constituencies, the NDP cited evidence 
of unsealed ballot boxes, the deliberate destruction of cast 
ballots, and actions by electoral officials violating ballot 
secrecy, which would lead it to formally contest the results 
in court.  The NDP also reiterated its complaint, first 
voiced before the election was held, that inaccuracies in the 
nation's list of eligible voters could contribute to 
electoral fraud.  Both the Supervisor of Elections and the 
Government have denied that such irregularities occurred; the 
Government admitted there were problems with the list of 
eligible voters but denied that these allowed electoral fraud 
to occur. 
 
----------------------------- 
Election Observers Criticized 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) The opposition faulted international election 
observers from CARICOM and the OAS for failing to be in St. 
Vincent for more than a few days, which was insufficient to 
thoroughly monitor the electoral process.  A non-partisan 
NGO, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Human Rights 
Association (SVGHRA), separately criticized the observers for 
focusing too much on what occurred on election day and 
leaving St. Vincent before the counting of votes was 
completed in all constituencies.  The NGO took issue with 
CARICOM and the OAS for having expressed satisfaction with 
the overall manner in which the election was conducted when 
they themselves found shortcomings in electoral procedures. 
In a statement, the SVGHRA said that the observers were "in 
no position to give a true picture of the overall electoral 
process" when the nation's "electoral machinery was seriously 
flawed."  (Note:  Two Emboffs from Embassy Bridgetown were 
part of the OAS observer team.  See reftel B.  End note.) 
 
---------------------------------- 
Government's Legitimacy Questioned 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) To protest the election results, the opposition's 
three MPs walked out of the opening session of Parliament on 
December 27 and joined NDP supporters on the street.  The 
opposition also held a candlelight march and other 
demonstrations where NDP leader Arnhim Eustace questioned the 
"moral authority" of PM Gonsalves's government.  A prominent 
NDP member who lost one of the closer races for Parliament 
complained at a demonstration that the Government "hijacked8 
the election and demanded the arrest of the Supervisor of 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000085  002 OF 002 
 
 
Elections.  Critics, including the editorial pages of St. 
Vincent's three major newspapers, have called for the 
opposition to accept the election results and allow the 
country to move forward. 
 
------------------------------- 
Was the Election Free and Fair? 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Comment:  The opposition's challenge is unsurprising 
considering that it warned of possible electoral 
irregularities prior to the December election.  The NDP 
leadership appears to loathe PM Ralph Gonsalves and think him 
capable of just about anything.  Considering that the ruling 
ULP was expected to remain in power, it seems unlikely that 
Gonsalves would have found it necessary to "hijack" the 
election.  It does, however, appear suspicious that prior to 
the election it was thought possible that the ULP could lose 
three seats only to see the party win three (though not 
necessarily the same three) by the thinnest of margins. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment continued:  The criticism leveled against 
the CARICOM and OAS observer missions by both the opposition 
and an independent NGO appears justified to some degree. 
Neither organization was in the country for long, nor did 
they have many monitors at their disposal.  While the 
election probably was, for the most part, free and fair, the 
presence of the observers has provided the Government with 
the political cover necessary to deny that any significant 
irregularities occurred. 
GILROY