The Electoral Boundaries in the federation of St. Kitts and Nevis are “ILLEGAL”.
According to the federation's Prime Minster, the electoral boundaries have been illegal for years thanks to the PAM administration for meddling with them in the first place.
As far as the Prime Minister is concerned, the Kennedy Simmonds lead administration of 1980 to 1995 dabbled wrongly with the well laid out boundaries, intent upon shifting the balance of power in their favor. It's been long overdue. Time to change those boundaries!
Supporting the argument for boundary changes, the integrity driven Dr. Denzil Douglas Labour party administration cites its earnest interest in correcting the illegal boundaries forced onto the people by PAM.
According to one study, there is presently no need to increase the number of constituencies. In fact, most of the proposed changes will supposedly be a more accurate reflection of the dynamic growth and movement in population throughout the federation. These well thought out changes are deemed necessary in order to make the boundaries more equitable and once again "legal".
In 1993, despite the alleged "illegal" changes to the boundaries years earlier, the citizens of St. Kitts expressed their readiness for change. After three terms of the Kennedy Simmonds' lead administration, a vast majority of the electorate was adamantly desirous of change.
Bearing the gift of hope and a people centered vision, a team of men with various capabilities, lead by a doctor, "wowed" the St. Kitts electorate. A man who proclaimed to have the best interest of the people at heart and who vowed to do a better job than PAM was the appeal of the day. A political Renaissance seemed imminent as the nation's citizens ran with the new theme of "change".
There is an interesting lesson one can take away from the discussion on boundary changes.
Even with the "Illegal boundaries" the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party handsomely won seven seats in July of 1995.
Even with the "Illegal" boundaries, Labour claimed victory in a remarkable "ALL 8" campaign in 2000.
Despite the "Illegal" boundaries, Labour won seven seats in 2005.
Despite the "Illegal" boundaries, Labour won six seats in 2010.
In 2013, only four of eight parliamentary seats remain in favour of Labour given the departure of Dr. Harris and Mr. Condor.
The current political scenario begs the questions, will boundary changes - no matter how scientifically engineered- stop the electorate from opposing the Denzil Douglas lead St. Kitts-Nevis Labour party that has lost favor with a vast number of the people?
When word spread about the one parliamentarian who cried foul against the leadership of the Labour Party, some discounted that dissenting voice. Many regarded Dwyer Astaphan as the "fox" who couldn't get the grapes he wanted and who embarked on a public campaign to call the grapes sour. "He couldn't get his way," some declared. "He was not effective in his ministerial roles," others insisted and many suggest, "He want to be Prime Minister."
Surely, a lot was said about the former minister.
But only a few years later, along came more dissenting voices, revealing years of disappointment in the SKNLP leadership. This time, key senior ministers Dr. Timothy Harris and Sam Condor were the whistleblowers.
Their decision to part ways with the Prime Minister would earn them the name "hogs" a term used by the Prime Minister in parliament to describe his long time political partners. In seeking to discredit both men however, he managed to draw attention to himself. You see, the Merriam -Webster dictionary defines a "hog" as a domestic swine weighing more than 120 pounds, synonyms used to describe "hog" include "one who monopolizes, one who takes over, one who helps themselves, one who takes the lion's share of, one who hangs onto," and more. The dissenters who worked with him for years believe he was aptly describing the "man in the mirror" when he coined the phrase, "dem dey a hog".
Mrs. Eugenie Byron-Condor pointed out in a recent radio interview that indeed, some degree of good has occurred under Denzil Douglas.
The record is there to support his work and a number of areas were strengthened under his administration. But coupled with his failed fiscal policies, Byron-Condor opines that his need to control and unilaterally make decisions have helped to hurt the party, the government and the country. His repeated humiliation of notable Labour Party stalwarts including Byron-Condor and others has contributed significantly to the steady erosion of the party's ideals and die hard supporters. To her mind, his colossal failure has essentially overshadowed the good the party has accomplished.
With such an alarming loss of confidence in the leadership of Dr. Denzil Douglas, is he now relying on boundary changes as his next best alternative to retain power?
Political pundits believe a shift in the boundaries may be the trump card on which the Prime Minister will rely. Others contend that the desperate attempt to shift the balance of power is a case of gerrymandering, which will ultimately spark the people's fury even more.
Has the people's hero of 1993 morphed into a political villain in 2013?
Will the Prime Minister further delay the Motion of No Confidence and manipulate the electoral boundaries in order to prolong his stay in government?
History has proven that it is "The People" who always hold the ACE!
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