Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

Fraser dismisses vote-buying accusations

Fraser dismisses vote-buying accusations

Third District Representative Julian Fraser has categorically dismissed the notion that he was ever involved in vote-buying, insisting that this has played no role in his re-election over the years.
In a recent interview, the veteran legislator pointed to the transfer of assistance grants from legislators to the Social Development Department and commented that residents may still be feeling the proverbial pinch.

Fraser argued that the nearly $2 million in funding previously disbursed by lawmakers, was going directly to seniors and the less fortunate and also suggested that lawmakers have a better understanding of residents who are in need of such grants.

“No matter you hear the talk out there about giving money for votes and all that kind of stuff. Well, okay. So, we didn’t have the money for the votes,” Fraser said. “Take a guy like myself for instance. You want to claim that I was using it all these years for votes? Okay, so I didn’t have it this time. And what happened?”

He added: “You can see it’s a farce. It’s a farce. These people relied on this kind of money for as small as it was. It was still a big thing for them.”

Days ahead of the just-concluded elections, former Territorial At-Large Representative Shereen Flax-Charles contended that persons were soliciting votes from seniors and differently-abled residents in Virgin Gorda by offering monetary incentives.

“I am very disappointed that we’re literally trying to hoodwink our elderly and differently-abled by offering them $40 or $50 to come to the polls and vote for certain candidates. Let’s be real. We have to stop that behaviour,” Flax-Charles stated at the time.

Petty contracts

Meanwhile, Fraser also pointed to the now-tightened restrictions over the issuance of petty contracts, a development which came in the wake of last year’s Commission of Inquiry report.

According to Fraser, “We were pumping over $2.5 million dollars in petty contracts on the district level alone. My district vote for projects and everybody else’s district vote for projects was in the neighbourhood of $2.5 million.”

He added: “Petty contracts … that’s exhausted, evaporated. These are monies that went into the communities. You take that away. So what do you expect?”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
×