BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN a show of defiance to the governing St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP), parliamentary representatives of the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) walked out of Parliament yesterday (July 9) to protest discussion of the Electoral Boundaries Commission report.
Speaking on behalf of CCM, Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition Hon. Mark Brantley outlined his party’s concerns with the resolution, chief of which is a High Court injunction prohibiting the distribution and consideration of the report.
“On July 2, Shawn Richards secured an order of the High Court for an injunction against the consideration of the boundary changes proposed by the Commission. The injunction remains and so far, government efforts to challenge it have been rebuffed,” he argued.
“Every order of the court must be respected until such time as it is set aside. No man or institution is above the law. The CCM believes the rule of law, respect for the court and the preservation of social and political stability must be the paramount consideration of this Parliament. In these circumstances, our position is that we cannot participate or contribute to this motion at this time and in this climate,” said Brantley.
The main St. Kitts opposition party, the People’s Action Movement, filed the injunction last week, adding to the ongoing saga of the disputed boundary changes. The ruling was upheld Wednesday (July 8) by His Lordship Justice Francis Belle, despite an SKNLP challenge.
Despite the injunction being upheld, an emergency meeting of the National Assembly was held Wednesday afternoon, at which Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas circulated the report and said that discussion on its implementation would proceed at yesterday’s session.
Noting the changes had come at “the proverbial eleventh hour”, Brantley said he was baffled as to why an emergency session of Parliament was convened to table a document that was the subject of a legal action. He warned of the repercussions that the resolution’s adoption could have on the Federation.
“The exercise of electoral reform has been handed badly. The exercise of the proposed boundary changes has been handled badly. These actions have created an atmosphere of political tension which could lead to instability and social unrest. We fear these proceedings make a mockery of our democracy and set a dangerous precedent on a slippery slope towards anarchy,” he cautioned.
After Brantley’s presentation, opposition members Hon. Vance Amory and Hon. Michael Perkins joined him in exiting Parliament, even though they had yet to make their contributions.
Speaking to SKNVibes afterwards, the Opposition Leader confirmed they were on their way back to Nevis and had no intention of discussing the report while it was still “a matter of the court”.
