VOTES FOR SALE: Appliances offered to sway BVI voters, Cline alleges

Bishop John Cline has alleged that voters in the BVI are being offered household appliances in exchange for their support at the ballot box.

Cline, a National Democratic Party member, made the claim in a recorded video address on territorial politics. He said callers had reported receiving offers of refrigerators, stoves, washers and dryers as inducements to vote for unnamed candidates or parties.

"I have to deal with the people who are calling me saying they are being offered refrigerators and stove and washer and dryer and all of the stuff that they're trying to buy your vote with," Cline stated in the video.

Cline did not identify who made the calls, name any individual or political party allegedly behind the offers, or provide dates and locations for the reported approaches.

He urged voters to protect their integrity and reject attempts to purchase their votes. "As a man or woman of integrity, your vote is not for sale," Cline said. He acknowledged, however, that people genuinely in need of assistance should still receive help.

Cline indicated he would address the matter further in additional videos as the political season progresses in the coming weeks and months. The allegation adds to earlier public concerns about financial inducements in BVI politics.