BASSETERRE, St. Kitts-LEGAL counsel for the state in the case of Shawn K. Richards versus the Electoral Boundaries Commission and the Attorney General stated at a press conference this morning (July 16) that it is “highly unlikely” general elections in St. Kitts would be called before the matter is heard before the court.
Barbados Attorney-at-Law Hal Gallop said that the calling of elections by the Prime Minister while the issue of the Boundaries Commission Report is being debated in the High Court is an issue of ‘practicality’.
“I would ask you to consider what is the practical effect of the same matter being before the courts and an election coming off when it is before the courts. That is something that really is quite highly unlikely.”
While the question of when elections would be held for St. Kitts-Nevis has been fervently debated recently by the general public, Gallop indicated that this debate may have been encouraged by the actions of the Peoples Actions Movement.
“Let me say this too, the question of the imminence of elections is really stated in the affidavit of Mr. Richards. You see, the affidavit that was put before His Lordship is one-sided…in saying that elections were imminent. And that caused the Court to act under the assumption that elections were imminent.
“I don’t think the Prime Minister had made any statement yet about the calling of elections,” he stated.
The legal team at the press conference, which was also comprised of lawyer Sylvester Anthony and Ambassador to the United Nations His Excellency Delano Bart, indicated however that if the Prime Minister wanted to call elections, there is nothing stopping him from doing so.
“Let us be clear, the proclamation describing the new boundaries is the law of the land. It remains the law until such time as a court strikes it down. The Prime Minister has the constitutional authority to advise the Governor General on the dissolution of the Parliament and the setting of an election. There is no order of the court that has taken away that constitutional authority.
“As to whether or not the Prime Minister may or may not call the elections, that is something we all have to wait for,” Anthony stated at the press conference.
He was subsequently questioned as to whether or not elections could be held under the changed boundaries, given an injunction granted on July 9 that bars the Supervisor of Elections and the Electoral Commission from overseeing an election with new boundaries.
“The question is whether, in a practical sense, elections can be conducted now that you have an injunction involving the Supervisor of Elections and the Electoral Commission. That is a much different question as to whether or not having called elections, you could actually carry it out if there is some kind of injunction against the elections office.”
