Politics
St. Kitts and Nevis: Prime Minister Denzil Douglas facing no confidence motion
Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis., Denzil Douglas
Members of the federal opposition on Wednesday, December 5 filed in the national parliament a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas.
Opposition leader Mark Brantley said he submitted the motion to Speaker of the House of Assembly Curtis Martin, asking him to “table this motion for debate at the earliest possible opportunity and as a matter of urgency”.
“Our nation finds itself at its lowest ebb since Independence and the opposition lays the state of our nation squarely at the feet of the gross mismanagement and incompetence of our Prime Minister in handling the affairs of state. To this end and using the parliamentary tools available, I have submitted the motion of no confidence,” said the Deputy Leader of the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM).
Brantley assured he had the support of all members of opposition — People’s Action Movement’s leader and deputy leader Shawn Richards and Eugene Hamilton; Concerned Citizens Movement leader Vance Amory; and People’s Action Movement senator Vincent Byron.
If the motion were to receive majority vote in the House, Prime Minister Douglas would be forced to resign within 3 days and the Governor General would have to dissolve the parliament and announce a general election within 90 days.
For the motion to succeed, it would require at least two members on the government benches to vote in its favor. Only eleven of the 14 members of parliament can participate in the vote of no confidence as only elected members can do so.
All 11 members will be required to give an oral vote and in the event of a tie, the motion would be defeated.
