BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE members of Her Majety"s Loyal Opposition in the Federal Parliament - which consists of the elected majority - is expected to deliver a letter the Governor General today (Feb. 13) expressing their support for the Hon. Dr. Harris.
This was revealed today during a Unity Press Conference held at the Ocean Terrace Inn.
The Hon. Shawn Richards - Opposition Member and Parliamentary Representative for Constituency Number Five - declared that the letter clearly outlines the position of the elected majority and their support for Dr. Harris for Prime Minister of the Federation. He further declared that this is in keeping with Section 52 (2) of the Federation's Constitution which speaks to the majority rule principle.
The section expresses, “Whenever the Governor-General has occasion to appoint a Prime Minister he shall appoint a representative who appears to him likely to command the support of the majority of the Representatives.” The Parliamentarian explained the Opposition's expectation that the Governor General - Sir Edmund Lawrence - would act in accordance having received the correspondence and ask the Prime Minister to step down and appoint Harris as Prime Minister. “In our letter we will indicate to him that we the elected members of the National Assembly...are in support of Dr. The Hon. Timothy Harris to be Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis.
“The result of this letter is that we have put beyond question the fact that Dr. The Hon. Denzil Douglas does not command the support of the majority of representatives as required by Section 52 (2) of the Constitution of St. Kitts and Nevis.”
SKNVibes understands that the letter has since been delivered to the office of the Governor General.
In early 2013, the Opposition wrote to the Governor General declaring that its members do not support the sitting Prime Minister the Rt. Honourable Dr. Denzil L. Douglas. But as was explained by Opposition Senator Vincent Byron, the difference between this and the former correspondence is the most recent names Dr. Harris as the person who commands the majority of elected representatives.
“We would be most grateful for confirmation of Your Excellency’s speedy action in this regard so that some constitutional normalcy can be restored to the public affairs of our country,” a section of today’s letter states.
