Published 7th June 2020
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
Electorate reaffirms support for Dr Harris-led Team Unity by handing it an increased mandate
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, June 6, 2020 (PLP PR Media Inc.) — Prime Minister, Dr the Hon Timothy Harris, led Team Unity’s Dream Team to an eight-seat National Assembly victory in the Friday June 5 General Election, earning a second five-year term in government even with results for two seats yet to be declared at the time going to press.
Team Unity which is a coalition of three political parties, the People’s Action Movement (PAM), the Peoples Labour Party (PLP) and the Nevis-based Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), won a majority seven seats in the eleven-seat National Assembly after the February 16, 2015 elections. The main opposition, the St. Kits Nevis Labour Party won three seats, while the Nevis-based Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) took one seat.
From the released results, following the successfully held Friday June 5 General Election held under Emergency Powers (COVID-19) Regulations, Team Unity had bagged eight seats. The St. Kitts Nevis Labour party had lost two of the three seats it held, and the NRP had lost its single seat to Team Unity candidates. Results from St. Christopher One and St. Christopher Eight had not been released at the time of going to press.
Defending the St. Christopher Seven which he first won in 1993, the National Political Leader of the Peoples Labour Party (PLP) Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris who voted at the community centre in Stone Castle, Tabernacle Village, received a total of 1,870 votes against the St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party candidate Mr Leon Natta-Nelson who could only muster 607 votes.
The Honourable Prime Minister beat the St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party candidate by a whopping 1,263 votes, which he acknowledged was the best performance ever in Constituency Number Seven.
People’s Action Movement (PAM) Party Leader and Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Shawn Richards who was first elected to parliament in 2004, successfully defended his St. Christopher Five seat by garnering 1,296 votes against the St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party candidate Mr Kenneth Douglas who only managed 721 votes.
In Nevis, Leader of the Concerned Citizen’s Movement (CCM), Premier of Nevis and Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs and Aviation, the Hon Mark Brantley, floored newcomer Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) candidate, Dr Kelvin Daly. Premier Brantley received 1,689 against 1,155 votes by Dr Daly to retain his Nevis Nine (St. Paul’s and St. John’s) seat.
Trouble for the St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party started when newcomer and PLP’s Deputy National Political Leader Senator Akilah Byron-Nisbett dislodged the Hon Konris Maynard from the St. Christopher Three (West Basseterre) seat by winning 1,342 votes against his 1,253 votes. Senator Byron-Nisbett becomes first non-Labour candidate to win the seat.
Counting of the votes cast at the various polling stations across the eleven constituencies started immediately after the polling stations closed. The first declared results announced by Supervisor of Elections Mr Elvin Bailey, which came shortly before 11:00 pm, were those of Nevis Ten (Gingerland) where the Hon Eric Evelyn of the CCM annihilated his NRP rival, Mr Bjorn Hanley, by beating him 710 votes to 167 votes.
Those results were closely followed by the results from Nevis Eleven (St. James and St. Thomas) where the Hon Alexis Jeffers of the CCM opened a new chapter in Nevis politics when he won the seat by 1,107 votes. Defending was the 20-year holder of the seat, Hon Patrice Nisbett of the NRP who got 910 votes. The CCM has never won that seat, and the win has effectively ended NRP’s presence in the Federal National Assembly.
In other results, the Hon Lindsay Grant of the People’s Action Movement overcame a two-pronged challenge to retain the St. Christopher Four seat by garnering 1,284 votes. He beat Mr Steve Wrensford of the St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party who received 933 votes, and independent candidate Mr Jason Thomas who received a mere eleven (11) votes.
Youthful Ambassador Jonel Powell, Chairman of the People’s Action Movement, was making his second attempt at the seat having lost narrowly in 2015. This time around, with the youth in the constituency firmly behind him, he was able to dislodge two-term parliamentarian, the Hon Marcella Liburd, by gaining 1,654 votes against her 1,422 votes.
In St. Christopher Six, Political Leader of the St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party Dr Denzil Douglas who would have been ordered to vacate the seat by the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court of Appeal in March reclaimed it after winning by 1,553 votes. Challenging him for the seat was PLP’s Mr Kevin ‘Ninky’ Williams who received 519 votes.
Constituency Number Six is a traditional Labour seat and what is instructive is the fact that the 519 votes scored by the PLP candidate who was campaigning under the slogan ‘Try Something Else’ is the highest number of votes ever amassed by any candidate running against Dr Douglas.
