Last Updated on February 5, 2020, 10:40 PM AST by Anthony Morris
St Kitts and Nevis’ Leader of the Opposition, the Right Hon Dr Denzil L Douglas has accused the Timothy Harris-led coalition adminstration of holding the people of the twin-island federation “to ransom” amidst attempts to change the electoral boundaries as the fifth anniversary of the general last election comes on February 16, 2020. The last election was held on February 16, 2015.
In a statement during his weekly radio programme “Ask the Leader” on Tuesday night, the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) leader also called on the non-governmental organisations to speak out on the issues as they did during his administration.
Dr Douglas accused Prime Minister Harris in being “almost pig-headed” in resolving a legal matter to do with the last report from the Constituency Boundaries Commission in 2015.
Dr Douglas is of the view that the people of St Kitts and Nevis are basically being held “ransom” as they do not know which boundaries will be used five years after the 2015 general elections.
With the November 2019 appointment of a new chairman to head the Electoral Boundaries Commission and the commission’s first meeting in December, 2019, Dr Douglas accused prime minister Harris of pushing the commission to change the 2015 boundaries which were not used following the Privy Council ruling that those boundaries should come into force at the next dissolution of the National Assembly.
Dr Douglas said the chairman has asked the government whether it wants to change the 1989 boundaries, used in the 2015 poll or the 2015 boundaries.
“The question of gerrymandering the boundaries becomes very real,” said Dr Douglas, who accused the government of also corrupting the electoral process ahead of the 2020 poll.
He called on nationals at home and abroad to remain vigilant just as they were successful in preventing Prime Minister Harris in his bid to remove nationals who live overseas from the currrent list of voters and imposing a six-month residency requirement.
“I call on you to be vigilant. Defend your democracy and donot allow the government to continue with its corrupt practices and deprive you of your right to vote which your and my ancestors won by the shedding of blood in 1935 at the Buckley’s riots. I call on you to take this threat to your democracy seriously,” said Dr Douglas, who added that the government seems bent on imposing “unfair, unconstitutional boundaries on the people of St Kitts and Nevis to restrict their right to vote according to our constitution and according to our electoral law and I call on the people to resist this attempt.”
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
