BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – OVER the past five days, including today (Dec. 10), many people of both sexes had called this media house to provide an article that would define the meaning of a “resolution of No Confidence” in simplistic terms and to note some of the options open to Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas and the ruling St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party.
Being no expert in this field, this writer researched and found that a Resolution of No Confidence can be defined as a primarily statement which denotes that a person in a superior position - be it government or otherwise - is no longer deemed fit to hold that position. And that he or she had fallen short in some respect, such as failing to carry out obligations or making choices that other members feel are detrimental.
In the context of St. Kitts and Nevis, Chapter V, Section 52(6) states: “The Governor-General shall remove the Prime Minister from office if a resolution of no confidence in the Government is passed by the National Assembly and the Prime Minister does not within three days either resign from his office or advise the Governor-General to dissolve Parliament.”
This simply means that if the Opposition Parliamentarians were to be successful in their Motion of No Confidence against the leadership of the Prime Minister and in his Government, Dr. Denzil Douglas will have three days within which he should resign or advice the Governor-General to dissolve Parliament.
However, before this Resolution can become a reality, it first must be tabled in Parliament and obtain a majority vote. But it must be noted that only elected Members of Parliament can vote; Senators cannot vote as they normally do when other matters (Bills) are proposed for decision.
Evidence of this fact lies in Chapter IV, Part 2, Section 41(1) of the Constitution, which states: “Save as otherwise provided in section 19(8), 37(6) or 38(2), any question proposed for decision in the National Assembly shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members present and voting: Provided that question of no confidence in the Government shall be determined by a majority of the votes of all the Representatives.”
Representatives speak to Members of Parliament who were elected and not Senators who were appointed.
Last Friday (Dec. 7), while Members of the Government and Opposition Benches were assembled in Parliament with the expectation that debates would have ensued on the Senators Bill, the session was postponed because the Speaker of the House, the Hon. Curtis Martin, had taken ill.
And unlike the belief of many, the No Confidence Motion could not have been tabled at that sitting because it had to be submitted three days prior to that assembly in Parliament. But despite the setback, the Opposition Members were counting on having it tabled on Budget Day, which is scheduled for tomorrow.
However, tomorrow, the ‘ball’ will be in the Speaker’s court.
While the Opposition Members will argue that the No Confidence Motion should take precedence over the Budget Address, the Government’s Bench will argue for the latter and the decision would have to be made by the Speaker, if he is no longer ill.
Also, some Members on the Government’s Bench could be absent due to illness or for some reason(s) of national interest. Therefore, the Budget Address has to be postponed and Parliament adjourned, which would mean that the No Confidence Motion, too, has to be shelved until a later date.
Now for some of the options available to the Prime Minister.
Among those options are:
a. Before the Motion can be tabled, the Prime Minister can advise the Govern-General to dissolve Parliament. But this means that he would have to call an election within 90 days; and it can be a snap election;
b. It is known that conflict exists between the Prime Minister and his Deputy, as well as between he and Senior Minister Dr. Timothy Harris, and the Opposition is hoping that these two elected Parliamentarians voting in favour of the No Confidence Motion. Therefore, the Prime Minister should strive at all costs to make amendments and secure their votes not only for his preservation, but also for his political party;
c. The Prime Minister can decide to resign before the next sitting of Parliament; and
d. He can also suspend Parliament, which would mean that nothing can be tabled.
This situation can escalate and cause a tremendous economic setback in St. Kitts and Nevis if a amicable solution is not applied in the shortest time possible. The people must come first!
