Governor-General responds to Representatives letter

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - AFTER waiting for some two weeks, the Federation was told that under the Constitution, the Governor-General could not remove the sitting Prime Minister since he lost the majority of Cabinet.
 
In a missive last month following the infighting within the Government, six of the nine members of Cabinet wrote to the Governor-General outlining that Prime Minister and Leader of the People;s Labour Party (PLP) Dr. Timothy Harris does not command the majority support of Cabinet.
 
All of this followed weeks of public name calling within the Government and three failed meetings to resolve the situation.  
 
In a reported letter from the Governor-General, Sir Tapley Seaton, addressed to the six elected members who wrote to him, indicated: “I have reviewed your communication requesting the Governor-General to remove the Prime Minister and to appoint another Minister in his stead.
 
“I wish to advise that under our Constitution no such power resides in the Governor-General and I am therefore unable to accede to your request.”
 
This announcement would be a blow to those Cabinet members who sought to remove the Prime Minister, but would be of no surprise as many lawyers and those in the public sphere had indicated that it would not have been possible, since no provision was made for that in the Constitution.
 
Instead, provisions have been made for the removal of the Prime Minister through a Motion of No-Confidence. A position that was adopted by the group when Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the People’s Action Movement (PAM) Shawn Richards indicated that he is exercising all the options when it comes to the Motion.
 
Asked recently about resigning rather than tabling a motion, the DPM said: “Even though one resigns from Cabinet, it does not necessarily mean that in terms of the functioning of the Government it immediately comes to an end. The Constitution provides us with the different options as to how to bring the life of the Government to an end, and indeed we are exercising those options.”
 
Emphasising that if resignation were an option, it is a position that would be taken by the Representatives.
 
Richards confirmed that should the Prime Minister return to the table and an agreement is reached, the Motion of No Confidence would be withdrawn before it is tabled.
 
Parliamentary Representatives for Constituencies Two, Four, Five, Nine, Ten and Eleven all signed on to the letter indicating they lost confidence in the embattled Prime Minister.