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St Kitts & Nevis: Douglas’ party ready to concede – Timothy Harris, likely to form new government
St Kitts & Nevis voters have denied Prime Minister Denzil Douglas an opportunity of becoming the first regional leader to win 5 consecutive general elections and instead voted Team Unity, an alliance of 3 opposition parties to form the next government.
While the Electoral Commission has not officially released the results of the elections, Douglas’ St Kitts & Nevis Labor Party (SKNLP) appeared willing to concede the victory on Tuesday.
The outgoing Information Minister Nigel Carty said while the entire country is awaiting the results, the Supervisor of Elections, Wingrove George “does have a serious obligation to address the country on what is the country’s most critical event – the elections.
“Therefore we want to say to the general public that we would really like for this matter to be over as quickly as possible. We are calling on the supervisor to do what is required to ensure that the results are announced as quickly as possible.”
Carty said “however we believe that based upon the information which is coming from the various constituencies – we believe from what is stacking up that the unity coalition may have won the elections and we want the country to be able to know what precisely are the results of the elections so we can move on”.
He added that the SKNLP was calling upon George “to appear as quickly as possible to make the requisite announcement to the country so that the country can move on less this be seen as something that it is not meant to be,” said Carty, who is also the SKNLP deputy chairman.
The Electoral Commission is expected to issue a statement later on Tuesday.
The Team Unity alliance led by economist, Timothy Harris, 51, a one-time senior cabinet minister in a Douglas administration, said it had won at least 7 of the 11 seats that were at stake in Monday’s elections.
The alliance comprises the main opposition People’s Action Movement (PAM), the People’s Labor Party (PLP) and the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM). Timothy said he was going to hold talks with Governor General Sir Edmund Lawrence later on Tuesday.
The 15-member National Assembly is made up of 11 elected members and 4 others, two of whom are government senators and one opposition senator. The attorney general is the ex-offico member of the legislative body.
The St Kitts & Nevis Labor Party (SKNLP) had entered the election in an accommodation with the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) telling the public it was the best party suited to continue the socio-economic development of the twin-island nation. But Team Unity alliance had urged supporters it was time for there to be “Prosperity for All” and accused the outgoing administration of nepotism, corruption and mismanagement of the economy.
The Team Unity alliance had campaigned on the theme “Better Days are coming” and had urged its voters to ensure that they remove the incumbent from office.
As he addressed jubilant supporters from the balcony of the party’s headquarters, Timothy said the “victory belonged to you the people”.
“I promise we will treat everybody fairly and equally, black or white, male or female,” he said, adding “my family this is your victory – this is your moment of rejoicing”.
Among the casualties of the election were deputy prime minister Assim Martin who lost to newcomer Ian Liburd and Sports Minister Glen Phillip who lost to former PAM leader Lindsay Grant.
Former deputy prime minister Sam Condor, the deputy leader of the PLP was also defeated in the election.
The elections were observed by teams from CARICOM (Caribbean Community) and the Organization of American States (OAS).
According to local political analyst Peter Wickham, the situation unfolding following the closure of the polls “has essentially damaged the reputation and legacy of the outgoing prime minister Denzil Douglas. “It is unfortunate but I think it is a lesson to all leaders in the Caribbean that they need to come do their time and move on and they need to consider their legacy,” he added. -(CMC)