St Vincent and the Grenadines Opposition leader Dr Godwin Friday said on Thursday that removing Queen Elizabeth as head of state is not a priority at this time.
A referendum was held in 2009, and it was overwhelmingly rejected by the people. However, Friday stated that the time will come to revisit such matters but now is not the right time.
“We had a referendum back in 2009, the people voted against it overwhelmingly, and that was one of the key things in it. More than that, it’s an important issue, but it is not the most urgent issue right now. That is not something that’s on people’s minds”.
“Now, you want to spend $1,000,000 having a referendum to decide on the status of the Queen. You have people who still don’t have a roof, a safe roof over the head up in the North affected by the La Soufriere eruption”.
“People are struggling to find shoes and clothes to send their children back to school in September. The time will come for that and people and the people will consider it when the time comes”.
Through a single-item referendum, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves proposed removing the Queen as head of state and replacing her with a non-executive president.
Gonsalves says he will only pursue a single-item referendum if bipartisan support is forthcoming.
On Thursday, Friday delivered what is considered the Opposition’s response to Gonsalves’ proposal during his party’s radio program.
