BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PRIME MINISTER the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas said he would be very surprised if the action of Supervisor of Elections Pastor Leroy Benjamin and Registration Officer Bernadette Lawrence were deliberate in determining the results of the St. John’s Nevis Election of July 2011.
The PM was yesterday afternoon (Aug. 29) speaking at his Monthly Press Conference at Government Headquarters on Church Street in Basseterre.
He was asked to comment on the Appeal Court’s judgment on the two electoral officials, in which it found that Pastor Benjamin showed evidence of reckless indifference as to whether he was breaking the law and causing injury, and Lawrence demonstrated bad faith, bias and misfeasance in the execution of her duties.
“I want to thank the court for its judgment because when the first judgment was given at the lower court, though it was very seriously considered, one felt it was our duty to wait for natural justice to take its course and let the appeal system also speak to us.
“The Appeal Judges have issued their judgment on Monday and with regard to how it speaks to election officials on our part in terms of its directions and directive, we are still looking for the opportunity to receive, firstly, an effective assessment of the judgment by the relevant legal authority and then, of course, the government will take the appropriate action,” Dr. Douglas said.
Dr. Douglas declared that he did not wish to comment much on the descriptive language used by the court in passing judgment, but emphatically stated that “I would be very, very surprised if the action on their part was in any way deliberate…mainly because of the high regard with which each must be aware that he would have been performing his specific duty and responsibility to our country”.
“I believe that specific directives have been given to us; and just from my initial hearing of the comments from the judges, and those naturally would have to do with the way one conducts oneself and how one conducts the procedures in terms of dealing with voters who have been challenged and who therefore have to appear before a registration officer for hearings to determine whether they are properly registered or not,” he added.
The PM further declared that he would comment on the two electoral officials’ action sometime in the future after receiving advice from the relevant individuals as to how they should proceed.
“I believe that sufficient have been given as to how we should conduct this exercise in the future, and government would want to have the best advice especially from those who conducted the case on behalf of the government and from the Attorney General’s Chambers as to how we should proceed to put these important new directives in place. For the moment, this is all I say with regard to that particular question.”
The Eastern Caribbean Appeal Court on Monday (Aug. 27) upheld the High Court’s ruling that the election of Deputy Premier Hensley Daniel was null and void, paving the way for a by-election within 90 days or the dissolution of the Nevis Island Assembly and a return to general elections on the island.
Since then, Deputy Premier Hensley Daniel has tendered his resignation as a minister in the Nevis Island Administration and a number of social and political groups have reiterated their call for Pastor Benjamin to resign from or be relieved as the Supervisor of Elections.
