BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE most recent of calls for the removal of Leroy Benjamin Sr. from the post of Supervisor of Elections was made days ago by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CIC). But Benjamin seems unconcerned and stated that he has more important things to occupy his time.
The CIC disseminated a press release to the media on July 13, in which is catalogued its sentiments on the July 11 local elections in Nevis and described it – among other things – as controversial.
It also referred to the Federation’s electoral process as “seriously flawed”.
Also in the same release, the CIC called for a number of things including a revisiting of the electoral system and the removal of Benjamin Sr. as the Supervisor of Elections.
SKNVibes contacted Benjamin yesterday (July 15) to seek a comment on the Chamber’s call, and he indicated that he has no time to waste on addressing that issue.
“I don’t have any time with that. I have more important things to deal with. I have no time for that at all. I have more important things to do with my time…I have no time to waste with them,” Benjamin said.
Weeks before the election, the Electoral Commission and the Supervisor of Elections had reached an impasse concerning names that were removed by Registration Officer(s). The Electoral Commission advised the Supervisor of Elections that the names “shall” remain on the list.
However, days prior to the election, it was discovered that some 200-plus names were removed from the list, a large portion of which came from the constituency in which the Nevis Reformation Party’s (NRP) Hensley Daniel and the Concerned Citizens Movement’s (CCM) Mark Brantley contested.
Daniel won the seat by a 14-vote margin effectively winning a second term in office for his party. The NRP won three of the five seats with the CCM capturing the other two.
Benjamin was appointed Supervisor of Elections in 2004 and has since supervised two general elections, one by-election and two local elections.
