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Posted: Thursday 6 November, 2014 at 11:12 PM

The Era of Alliances

G. A. Dwyer Astaphan
By: G. A. Dwyer Astaphan, Commentary

    Thursday, November 6th, 2014 - Political alliances are not new to St. Kitts & Nevis. But we’ve now reached a stage where they dominate our politics.

     

    Let me start with this proposition:

     

    On the present configuration of the constituency boundaries, and if there’s the slightest chance of a reasonably fair election, no single party can win 6 seats in the National Assembly.

     

    This is one of the reasons we’re seeing political parties forming alliances.

     

    In fact, Denzil Douglas recognized the need to form an alliance at least ten years ago, showing his hand right after the 2004 general elections when the NRP’s Patrice Nisbett was made Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.

     

    While many of us didn’t spot it at the time, it signaled the beginning of the alliance, to evolve into a full-fledged coalition if Douglas saw himself running short of seats. And the evidence shows that that’s exactly has happened over the past four years.

     

    He helped the NRP in the local elections of 2006, 2011 and 2013, and also in the Federal elections of 2010. And the relationship has become so tight that he has been able to, worse yet, he has been allowed to, undermine the dignity and self respect of that Party. That’s my opinion.

     

    Indeed, it can be argued that the NRP now belongs to Douglas. And who isn’t on the payroll is on some other kind of roll, ready and eager to jump to attention at his command.

     

    Of course, there’s a third (unofficial) member of that coalition, namely the  National Integrity Party (NIP) which, despite appearing to be of little political significance, is nevertheless a part of the three-party alliance, as we hear its spokesmen in the media dutifully and uniquely voicing their opposition to other parties in Opposition.

     

    This DLP, NRP and NIP alliance is built, not on the principles of consensus and equity. Instead, it’s built on the enduring and desperate lust for power in the heart of one man, for who even twenty years as this country’s Prime Minister is not enough, and on a group of hangers on whose consciences, compassion and civic-mindedness have been consumed by self-serving opportunism.

     

    Then there’s the other alliance in our Federation, also comprising three political parties, namely, PAM, CCM and PLP.

     

    Like the DLP, NRP and NIP alliance, this other alliance, known as Team Unity, is made up of human beings, frail and imperfect as they are, and as we all are. But their mission statement is absolutely different from that of the Douglas-led alliance.

     

    Team Unity was created in an effort to change the political culture, to provide more efficient and transparent governance, to conduct itself and the nation’s affairs with greater accountability to, and sensitivity and respect for, the people, and to end political tribalism and the decimating and destructive effect it has been having.

     

    While Team Unity is not as old as the Douglas-led alliance, it didn’t arise overnight. In fact, it has taken two years to reach where it is, with former political foes now shedding egos and political partisanship and adopting a ground-up, inclusive, country-above-self approach to governance.

     

    This is a radically new and truly exciting and positive initiative by Team Unity, and it will certainly be accorded pride of place in the history, not only of St. Kitts & Nevis, but also of the region.

     

    And as St. Kitts & Nevis led the region for the better in 1935 with the Buckleys Uprising, so now we are again poised to take an historic lead with the introduction of a more dignified, humane and efficient approach to public governance and to our politics and daily lives generally, through Team Unity.

     

    There has been too much divisiveness. Too much polarization. Too much bad governance and corruption. Too little emphasis on truly empowering our people and on healing and rebuilding communities.

     

    The whole region is watching! And hoping.

     

    As I said at the start of this discussion, no single political party can win 6 seats in the upcoming general elections on the basis of the present boundaries and a reasonable amount of fairness in the election.

     

    The Douglas Party-led alliance can win as many as 4 seats in St. Kitts and 1 seat in Nevis.

     

    Team Unity, on the other hand, can win up to 7 seats in St. Kitts and all 3 seats in Nevis.

     

    So the odds favour Team Unity to form the next Government.

     

    It’s no surprise, therefore, to hear the chatter from Douglas and his followers that the Constituency Boundaries are unconstitutional and need to be changed for the next elections.

     

    The Constitution requires that the Constituency Boundaries Commission review the number and boundaries of the nation’s constituencies and report on such reviews at intervals between two and five years.

     

    It is no secret that there hadn’t been such a review and subsequent report for many, many years, and the relevant Section of the Constitution was not being followed.

     

    But there have been no penalties, and there are no penalties, for such failures to comply with the Constitution. Indeed, the Court has ruled that the relevant provision of the Constitution is directory rather than mandatory.

     

    Had there been penalties, then it can be argued that the results of the six elections held between 1989 and 2004, a period during which no reviews were done and no reports submitted, were null and void. And we know that that is an absurd proposition.

     

    So the argument being presently peddled by Douglas and his surrogates that the boundaries need to be changed in order for the elections to be constitutionally valid is nonsense.

     

    But further, a minority Administration whose tenure has been rendered illegitimate by its failure to face a Motion of No Confidence (which is a mechanism of the highest importance in the democracy which is intended by the Constitution), going now on two years, a Motion whose success was always guaranteed, can never have the constitutional, political or moral authority to occupy Church Street, far less demand constituency boundary changes.

     

    The Douglas-led alliance was to have faced the electorate since March, 2013, on the existing boundaries, and it cannot, by any stretch of the law, conscience or imagination, validate or justify its call for boundary changes for the upcoming elections.

     

    They want to be wrong and strong. 

     

    And they’re very afraid, as they face a strong Team Unity alliance with fresh energy, sound policies, and a positive vision and agenda for progress, and an even more formidable opponent: a population which has now seen the light, which is fed up, and which wants the country to move on under a different, more respectful, responsible and cordial dispensation.

     

    Let us not disappoint history.

     

    The framers of the Labour Party Constitution would agree with me on this, as at Article II Clause 8 of that constitution, they declare that one of their objectives was to “secure and maintain the complete unity of the people of the State in their struggle for political, social and economic advancement”.

     

    Think for a bit and ask yourselves which of the present alliances the fathers of Labour such as  Nathan, Wilkes, Solomon, Sebastian, Halbert, Challenger, John, Seaton, Archibald, Bradshaw, France and Southwell would have supported.

     

    They would have clearly understood : (i) that present-day St. Kitts & Nevis politics is about alliances; (ii) that a choice would have to be made; (iii) and that choice would create or kill the opportune  to make positive and meaningful change in the political culture of the Federation and the entire Caribbean. 

     

    In deliberating upon their choice, they would have had a very close look at Douglas.

     

    So which alliance do you think the Founding Fathers of Labour would have chosen?

     

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