BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Hon. Shawn K. Richards was yesterday (Sept. 23) successful in his bid for election to the position of Political Leader of the People’s Action Movement (PAM) although that result would not be official until ratification takes place next week.
The Special Delegates Convention was held at the PAM’s Headquarters where 132 individuals cast votes for either the Hon. Eugene Hamilton or Richards – both of whom are Deputy Political Leaders of the PAM.
SKNVibes understands that the votes were equally divided; each candidate received 66.
The tie-breaker was achieved with the Chairman of the party, having a casting vote, giving Richard a one-vote lead over Hamilton.
Richards, the Political Leader-elect, will not officially function in that capacity until after the election is ratified at a Special Convention to be held on Sunday, September 30, 2012.
In an exclusive interview with SKNVibes, Hamilton congratulated Richards on his election and pledged his commitment to assist him in whatever way he could in the execution of his duties.
“He has run an important campaign where he has demonstrated that he can campaign in a party for election…I look forward to the opportunity after Sunday coming to join forces with the new leader, once Sunday goes okay for him. And I hope that together we can win some more seats for the People’s Action Movement so that we can form the government.
“Shawn Richards is a young, smart, bright guy. He is capable, in my view, of leading the party and the country if that is the opportunity that he gets. I certainly feel that he has the capacity to take the party and the country to where they ought to go. And it is now left to him to execute the promises that he has made to himself and the party. I will and can assist him in doing so.”
The Political Leader-elect told this publication that he is thankful for those delegates who vested confidence in him to take over the leadership of the PAM.
“I must say thanks to the delegates who would have placed their confidence in me yesterday to take over the leadership of the People’s Action Movement. I must also thank the other persons who would have voted for my colleague, because at the end of the day we have won goal in mind and it is now for us to join hands and move forward in unity towards the achievement of that goal which is defeating the incumbent Labour Party.”
On July 17, 2012, Lindsay Grant – via press conference – announced that he was resigning as Political Leader of the PAM, a position he held for 12 years. He however indicated that his resignation would take effect on September 30, 2012.
