BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PRIME MINISTER and Leader of the ruling St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas has divulged the rationale behind his party’s 2010 election campaign theme “Progress not Promises”.
“The election should be about the real progress the country has made, not empty promises,” he explained. “Anyone can simply go and make promises about making the lives of our citizens better. It is only talking. And what the People’s Action Movement (PAM) is doing is really no different.”
Douglas made that statement yesterday (Jan. 11) during an SKNLP press conference at its Masses House headquarters. Flanked by Labour Chairman Hon. Timothy Harris and Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Sam Condor, the SKNLP Leader delivered an update on his party’s campaign status.
According to Douglas, the Labour Party had transformed the nation through careful planning, intelligent decision-making and hard work. He stressed that this advancement had not occurred through promises and dreams but through concrete, unquestionable development.
“We have not just made promises, but we have created real progress. We have moved the formerly impoverished members of society to the working class...businesses have shown profits like they never did before. We have increased the minimum wage to one that is competitive in the entire region. We have given out 7 000 house lots and reduced the debt to GDP ratio,” Douglas outlined.
The Leader also announced that the SKNLP would continue to pursue alterations to the electoral boundaries if it was re-elected. The government’s initial attempt to change the boundaries was ruled unconstitutional by the Basseterre High Court last year.
While Douglas insisted his government was not upset at their inability to change the boundaries before the January 25 elections, he said that the people of St. Kitts-Nevis would be the ultimate judge as to who had prevented them from having a reformed electoral system.
He added that all political parties should adhere to the electoral laws, which allow persons to vote in a constituency once they are registered to do so. He expressed concern at “misleading” comments he claimed had originated from the PAM platform and said he would educate his supporters so they would not fall prey to it.
“Sidney Osbourne said during a PAM public meeting that anyone who is going to vote where he is registered to vote but is not living there will be prevented from doing so. I want to know who can do that. The electoral law makes it very clear that you are allowed to vote where you are registered. What about those who live in England but are coming home to exercise their franchise?
“When we hear this inflammatory remark, it is just to create confusion. It is to put fear in the minds of some people, to intimidate them from exercising their franchise. The rule of law will be protected on Election Day. Those who have the right to vote will do so fairly and fearlessly.”
The SKNLP conference is just one of the many political events that have occurred since a January 25 date was set for the general election. Both the SKNLP and PAM have stepped up their campaigning in recent days and have promised to release their party manifestos soon.
