Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 19, 2018 – What is happening to nationals of St. Kitts and Nevis by the Donald Trump and Theresa May administrations in the United States and the United Kingdom respectively, is no different to the proposed disenfranchisement of those same citizens by the Timothy Harris-led Team Unity Government in Basseterre.
That is the view of Chairperson of the opposition St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP), Hon. Marcella Liburd in reference to a plan by Prime Minister Harris to remove nationals of St. Kitts and Nevis living overseas from the Register of Voters and the imposition of a six-month residency prior to registration under proposed amendments to the National Assembly Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2018, which had its first reading on March 28,
“Here you have (United States President Donald) Trump trying to put our nationals, Caribbean and others, out of the United States and in the United Kingdom, a similar programme via the Windrush (scandal) and then, Dr. Harris in St. Kitts and Nevis, trying to disenfranchise the same people – our own nationals in the United States and the United Kingdom,” said Liburd during Wednesday’s “Issues” programme on Freedom 106.5 FM.
“The Government of Prime Minister Harris is trying to disenfranchise our own nationals who are on the Register of Voters here but who live overseas and who the United States and the United Kingdom are trying to put out of their countries. Nationals of St. Kitts and Nevis now find that they face removal from the voters’ list by the Timothy Harris Government,” said Liburd.
She pointed out that these are the very same nationals who also contribute to the economic and social development of St. Kitts and Nevis.
“These are persons with rights as citizens. Registering as a voter is based on residence. There is the theory of no taxation without representation holds true. The right to register to vote is not solely of citizenship, it is also based on residence where persons live and pay taxes. You then have a right to say how your taxes should be spent.
“Our current law says a person can have more than one residence. There are a significant number of persons who are Kittitians and Nevisians who live in New York and elsewhere, but also have homes here in St. Kitts and Nevis, where they also pay their taxes. They come home regularly. They do not rent their homes because when they come home, they want to ensure they just go to their homes without a hassle.”
Liburd, the Member of Parliament for St. Christopher 2 (Central Basseterre) accused Prime Minister Harris of attempting to deny those nationals the right to having a say in how their taxes are spent.
“Something has to be fundamentally wrong with that,” she told listeners.
Another proposed amendment to the National Assembly Elections Act is to change the one year residency requirement for nationals of Commonwealth countries to “a continuous period of at least three years before the registration date.”
Photo – Hon. Marcella Liburd
