Yearbook 2017
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. A judge in the High Court ruled in July that two appeals for electoral fraud filed by the Opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) in early 2016 should be brought up for judicial review. According to Countryaah.com, there is evidence that the electoral process in at least two constituencies did not follow the rules in connection with the December 2015 parliamentary elections and that the election was therefore not free and fair. The NDP received seven out of a total of 15 seats in the election, only one less than the United Workers’ Party (ULP). The NDP’s appeal was rejected in April 2016 by a judge because of a technicality. The party then moved the case to the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal, which found evidence of obvious bias and ordered the petitions to be reinstated by the court in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines with another judge.
In October, the authorities in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines waived a description of the country as “notorious for money laundering”. This allegation had circulated in international media in connection with reporting the prosecution of two former co-workers of US President Donald Trump – Paul Manafort and Rick Gates – who were accused of hiding large sums in various tax havens. In a written statement, it was pointed out that during the 21st century Saint Vincent and the Grenadines introduced laws and regulations to counteract money laundering.