Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, May 09, 2025

Should residents have power to remove leaders before an election?

Should residents have power to remove leaders before an election?

Co-host of the Talking Points radio show Elvin Grant has posited that the BVI could benefit from a law that would allow residents to remove elected leaders from office before the end of their term in office.
In situations where elected leaders are performing poorly, recall legislation would provide the public with mechanisms to boot them from office instead of waiting for a general election.

Grant said such a law would have come in handy this year, when the public saw a number of public officials who displayed behaviours they disapproved of.

During the Talking Points radio show aired on November 15. Grant asked former House of Assembly Speaker Julian Willock whether he would support such a law in the BVI.

In response, Willock said recall legislation isn’t necessary in the BVI as it is expensive and could cause instability in the territory, especially in cases where people would seek to remove more than one elected leader at the same time.

“We’re too small to talk about recall. Elections are every four years and I think the people of this country are wise to determine if an elected leader should stay or go after four years,” Willock explained. “What if you have a situation where you have to remove all 13 [representatives]? One has to think about our political stability. We’re a small-island state and we have our financial services industry.”

In rebutting Willock’s argument, host Damion Grange said he believes the BVI public have seen where “unreserved power goes to the heads of those who are elected sometimes.” He said he believes leaders would be more disciplined if they knew there were mechanisms to snatch power away before the end of their terms.

However, Willock insisted that a small island state like BVI isn’t ready for recall legislation and he drew on examples from larger jurisdictions in the Caribbean that function without such a law.

“Even in the Caribbean, where else do we have recall legislation? We don’t have it in St Kitts, Trinidad, Jamaica — and these are big jurisdictions. I know it’s in certain states like California. But it’s up to the [BVI] public and if that’s what they want overwhelmingly, I think it will make its way to the constitution,” Willock said.

The question of whether to introduce recall legislation in the BVI comes at a time when the public is being invited to share their views for consideration in the ongoing constitutional review process.

The topic of accountability among elected leaders has been hotly debated this year amid much turbulence in local politics and the Commission of Inquiry which found that the principles of good governance were being ignored in the territory for years. The government is now overhauling several of its systems and policies and restoring good governance in the territory.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
Driver Ploughs into Vancouver Festival Crowd, Killing Nine
Depression, Fear of Defamation, and a Tragic End: New Details on Virginia Giuffre’s Suicide
“Sharia for UK, Allah Akbar!”
Massive Explosion at Iran's Bandar Abbas Port Linked to Suspicious Chemical Shipments
Incident Reflection: A Harsh Reality Check
Pakistani migrants to Danish man: “ “We have 5 children while you have 1 or 2. In 10 years, there will be more Pakistanis than Danes here.“
Clashes Erupt in London as Tensions Rise Between Indian and Pakistani Communities
Specialized anti-drone weapons deployed among security personnel Ahead of Papal Funeral
How do you fix this culture?
×