BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - IN response to the Opposition’s claims that he is gerrymandering the electoral boundaries, Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas has unequivocally denied these suggestions, dismissing them as nonsense.
“As far as I am aware, categorically, there is no gerrymandering taking place…”
Dr. Douglas was drilled at his last press conference (July 24) by a member of the media about statements made by the Opposition and persons speaking on its political platform.
The statements suggest that Prime Minister Douglas – through specific members of the Electoral Boundaries Commission - is seeking to change the electoral boundaries so as to give an advantage to his ruling party, the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP).
Such is the belief that serious gerrymandering is taking place that Patrick Williams, a statistician and former Civil Servant who made presentations on the People’s Action Movement (PAM) platform regarding proposed boundary changes and the effect if they are passed, described it as ‘Douggiemandering”.
It is being bandied that with two members of the Commission coming from the Opposition Benches in the Federal Parliament and two others from the Government Benches, the Chairman is siding with the government-appointed individuals to effect changes in the boundaries which would favour the SKNLP.
And although his party was among those which forwarded suggestions for boundary changes, Dr. Douglas denied having knowledge of what the proposed changes are.
“The term gerrymandering, I believe, is being used very loosely because I am the Prime Minister. I don’t know what those changes are and I say it with a deem amount of respect. I don’t know what the changes are. I don’t know what the proposed changes are. I know that my two members of the Government have been sitting in the Commission to assist the Commission in arriving at what is a fair arrangement for the boundaries. I don’t know what they are.
“I know my parties would have made some recommendations. The CCM made recommendations…the NRP made recommendations. We did not make any recommendations for the NRP or for the CCM. They made their own recommendations. So how then can you with any logic say that the changes that are being proposed are the changes of the Labour Party proposals?”
Dr. Douglas said by initiating the process of boundary changes, the government is performing its constitutional responsibility as the PAM had done in the 1980s.
“The government is doing what it believes is right. It has the constitutional responsibility. PAM exercised its constitutional responsibility in 1983 for the elections in 1984. The PAM government under Dr. Kennedy Simmonds again exercised their constitutional responsibility in 1988 for the 1989 elections. So what is the basis for the boundaries not to be visited? Is it because it is Labour that is in power? So only PAM can change the boundaries…not Labour?”
Regarding Williams’ coinage and suggestion that PM Douglas is attempting to skew the elections in his favour through the work of the Commission, he suggested that the retired Senior Civil Servant possibly “has an axe to grind” and that he “is not an authority who sits on the Commission” and he “is a non-entity in this case”.
“I am saying it categorically. There is no need to attempt to gerrymander anything. I just told you if I were to have a choice, if Denzil Llewellyn Douglas, the Leader of the Labour Party was to have a choice, I would never change the boundaries…
“Gerrymandering? Douggiemandering? Nonsense! I don’t know why people like to involve my name in these kinds of things.”
