Bishop John I. Cline, a former Interim President of the National Democratic Party, posted a Facebook message on Sunday, October 4 to address questions about the NDP's standing, but his remarks instead underscored the party's ongoing internal struggles.
Cline reported receiving calls from voters claiming they had been approached with offers of major appliances. "People who are calling me saying they are being offered refrigerators, and stoves, and washers, and dryers," he said, calling on the electorate to reject such inducements and recognising that "your vote is not for sale".
Rumours have circulated that one party has been distributing appliances, cash and groceries to voters across the territory in an effort to secure support.
Cline's intervention also raised concerns about the public presence of the NDP's leadership. Paul A. Hewlett, who won the NDP presidency at the party's April National Convention, has not made public statements about the party's direction. Similarly, Chairman Marlon A. Penn has remained largely out of the spotlight, prompting Cline to assure the party faithful that matters are being handled with care.
The NDP has experienced repeated departures. Legislator Ronnie W. Skelton broke away before the 2019 elections to establish the Progressive Virgin Islands Movement, bringing Melvin M. Turnbull with him. In 2025, Turnbull joined with Myron V. Walwyn and Stacy R. Mather to launch The Alliance. The NDP and PVIM later reunited earlier this year.
Most recently, former legislator Mark H. Vanterpool was defeated by Penn for the chairmanship at the April convention and has since launched the People's Leadership Movement.
Cline stressed that the NDP remains "very, very much alive and is a strong party", while acknowledging it has weathered "many challenges and fractures".
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