BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AMIDST a crowd of several hundred Labour Party supporters, Deputy Prime Minister the Hon. Sam Condor officially reopened his Constituency Office on Cayon Street on the evening of Saturday, March 21.
Also in the crowd was every Labour candidate for the 2009 General Elections with the exception of Glen ‘Ghost’ Phillip as well as former Party Chairmen Edmund Lawrence and Val Morris. The night marked exactly 20 years since Condor became the Parliamentary Representative for West Basseterre, which runs from Wigley Avenue to Palmetto Point.
Condor is preparing to contest his sixth term, which ties him with Prime Minister the Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas as the current longest-serving Representatives. A brief ceremony consisting of entertainment acts and speeches from top-ranking party officials preceded the official ribbon-cutting.
In his address, Douglas reinforced the strong Labour roots in West Basseterre. He noted the Constituency had fallen into Labour hands in every election since independence and expressed his conviction that, come the next general elections, it would remain a Labour stronghold.
Confident of victory, Condor disclosed that his margin of victory had increased with every successive election. He predicted that not only would he once again win his seat, but that he would win by at least 1 000 votes over his closest challenger.
He also spoke of his appreciation and love for his constituents, deeming the relationship “a love affair”.
“We have been working together as a team. I am in close contact with each constituent, each resident. I know my constituency by name and nature,” Condor asserted.
He reassured the gathering that the best was yet to come under Labour, and that under Labour, the best was yet to come.
“West Basseterre has a role to play, like we played in 1993 and 1995 and 2000 and 2004. We have a similar role to play in 2009. That is how we will deliver this government for Labour. I can say confidently and proudly, I am Labour and proud and that Labour will win the seat in 2009 and Labour will win the election on 2009,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
Within the past six months, Labour Party constituency offices have been opened or reopened in Central Basseterre, Old Road, Sandy Point and St. Paul’s. Additionally, Douglas has hosted a series of Prime Ministerial Town Hall meetings in which persons can air their grievances and concerns.
General Elections are constitutionally due in March 2010 but is it believed that they will be called before this date. St. Kitts’ two main political parties, the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party and the People’s Action Movement (PAM), have steadily increased their campaign and rhetoric over the past few months, with both parties declaring an imminent victory.
