Last Updated on November 30, 2019, 8:00 AM AST by Anthony Morris
“I pronounce then that the Bill entitled “The Constitution of St Christopher and Nevis (Tenure of Office of the Prime Minister) (Amendment) Bill, 2019, has not been passed by this National Assembly,” declared Speaker Hon Michael Perkins to the Mover and Member for St Christopher 7, Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris on Friday night.
“Honourable Members, it would have required a minimum of eight Elected Members to have supported this Bill. Because seven would have voted (‘I’) and seven of you are less than two-thirds, – like one Member (Attorney General Byron) indicated earlier – it needs at least one part of a Member to make it two-thirds, so it would have required at least one Elected Member from the Opposition benches to have supported this Bill for it to pass,” said Perkins following two days of debate.
The Bill would have limited a prime minister to two terms, but made no mentioned of also limiting the tenure for a person holding the office of premier of Nevis, although the present holder is a Cabinet minister in the Federal Government and sits on the Federal benches.
The vote was taken around 8:45 on Friday night.
The seven elected representatives on the government benches voted in favour. The opposition benches which have four members were empty.
The opposition St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party had already made its position clear in that the legislation would need a special two-thirds majority of all elected legislators to pass and “given the balance of power in the current Parliament, the bill has no prospect of being passed without support from the Opposition.”
“This Bill, given its high constitutional significance and it being an attempt to make the very first amendment to our 1983 Constitution, would receive the support of the St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SNKLP) as is only if it is subjected to a referendum,” the opposition party said months ago.
It said that given that the concept of fixed-length terms does not exist under the present Constitution, “It is more appropriate to limit Prime Minister’s tenure on the basis of the number of years served, say eight years, rather than on the basis of the number of terms served.
“The SKNLP is fully committed upon taking office after the next general election to subjecting the 1983 Constitution to a comprehensive review via referendum to, inter alia, limit the tenure of the PM.”
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.
