BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WITHIN hours of the announcement of the date of the upcoming General Elections, Chairman of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris has declared that a comprehensive manifesto of programmes, policies and progress, not promises, will soon be delivered.
A spell of political sensation rained down on the nation last night (Jan. 7) after Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, with the help of 150 young persons, rang the symbolic election bell, signalling January 25 as Election Day. By morning, towns and villages alike were flooded with party colours and on every street corner talk of elections was in the air.
With all of the hype, Chairman Harris said that the nation can expect a slew of public meetings, rallies, launch of candidates and constituency offices and whistle stops leading up the fateful day. Harris joined the bell-ringers and welcomed the elections, which he predicted would see a repeated victory for his party.
“These are by and large to excite the national population, to give them a sense of the strength of the Labour Party and to send a message that the Labour Party is strong,” Harris said.
Among the series of political events is the launch of the party’s manifesto, which according to Harris would address critical policy issues and a national plan for the next five years. While the document has not yet been “fine-tuned” and a date has not yet been calendared for its launch, Harris informed that the manifesto would roll out at a “pivotal moment” of the campaign.
The party chairman stopped short of giving details of the contents of the manifesto, but did inform that the document will address social issues of law and order, new healthcare coverage, making the YES programme more permanent though job creation and providing further stimulus to businesses.
This campaign, in the words of Harris, will make people of St. Kitts-Nevis comfortable in having the Labour party return to office.
Harris stressed, “The key issue would be the question of competence in the leadership of the parties to take the country forward out of a difficult economic spell into a new era of growth and development. The Labour Party has the right mix, the right blend of experience and youth and enthusiasm.”
The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party has been in power since 1995, winning all eight seats of St. Kitts in the 2000 elections and seven in 2004. This year, Harris hopes that his party would be able to return to government winning all eight seats.
“We first have to be confident that we can hold on to those [seats] that we have so we can go for others. In an election, everything is possible. In the end it will all depend on the people and how well we sell our programmes. We say that we are confident the Labour Party will form the government,” Harris stated.
The upcoming weekend is packed with party events and they are expected to be more frequent as the country faces the final stretch to its 2010 general elections.
