BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LINDSAY GRANT, Leader of the People’s Action Movement (PAM), said his party would press forward with challenging Monday’s (Jan. 25) election results despite claims by Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas that they were acting like “sour losers”.
The election saw the incumbent St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) return to power, winning six electoral seats to PAM’s two. The opposition party subsequently revealed it would challenge the outcome in Constituencies One, Two and Four, the areas where it suffered the closest defeats.
When told about the impending challenge, PM Douglas said, “PAM is a sour loser. And the problem we had in this election is that Lindsay Grant has a notion that he must be the Prime Minister, and the people of Constituency Four don’t want him.”
In an exclusive interview with SKNVibes yesterday (Jan. 28), Grant said the fraudulent activities were “pretty obvious” and his party felt there was a strong basis to challenge the results.
“Obviously, what happened in Constituency Four was not fair. How can it be sour grapes when you had the army, which is being paid by the state, in Constituency Four parading semi-automatic guns in people’s faces?
“That is not fair and it’s not how elections are conducted. At the end of the day, if the court says we are wrong, we are wrong. If it says we are right, we are right. But it is an avenue under the Constitution to be challenged and we feel it ought to be challenged.”
Of the 60 voter objections he had pending, the PAM leader said they would now be taken to the court, explaining that there was a constitutional timeline of 21 days to file the election petition.
Grant thanked the thousands of persons who had supported his party and stressed that in spite of the loss, PAM would not “fold up and die”. He noted the party would do some introspection going forward, adding that calls for him to resign as Political Leader were unnecessary.
“It is the call of the people who selected me, the call of the top hierarchy of the party in consultation with the rank-and-file of the party. In time and in due course they will determine my fate; but I am here whether as the political leader, candidate or a supporter of PAM,” he emphasised.
“Obviously, prior to January 25, I expected my party to form the majority. That was not to be, but on a positive note, we’ve captured one more seat. I’m heartened that Eugene Hamilton won his seat in Constituency Eight and we’ll continue to strengthen the party.
There’ll always be winners or losers, but we continue as a party to be strong.
“We’re only saddened that we haven’t been given the opportunity to roll out our plans and programmes. But in time, people will understand them. I believe, at some point to come, we will get that opportunity.”
