By Devonne Cornelius
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Renowned Political Scientist Peter Wickham has commented on the possible outcome of the next general election in St. Kitts and Nevis constitutionally due in 2025 but widely believed to be coming soon.
Wickham in an interview on “The Blue Table with Mervin Hanley” on Tuesday, April 12 said overseas voters would be a determining factor in the next election.
He said: “The possibility of Labour getting three seats is high simply because you are in a situation where the borders open…we have seen the extent to which the overseas vote has factored in the past.
The overseas vote was not available on the last occasion but they are available now and for that reason, I am hesitant to make a bold statement regarding what the likely outcome will be because once the borders are open there are some seats where the outcome will be determined in New York, Canada, London, or up and down the island chain where the diaspora lives,” he added.
Following the 2015 election, the St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party’s representation in parliament was reduced to three. The SKNLP currently holds two of the parliamentary seats in the National Assembly; Constituency 6 with Dr. Denzil Douglas and Constituency 1 with Dr. Geoffrey Hanley.
Wickham says he is uncertain what the next federal government would look like.
“There are strong members in CCM, PAM and PLP that would retain their seats. The problem is…the configuration needed in order to win is complex and in a situation where Labour wins three seats, Labour becomes a factor and we don’t know how Labour would negotiate and with whom they will negotiate and what alliances they will form.”
The political climate in St. Kitts and Nevis recently got warm when the leaders of the People’s Action Movement and the Concerned Citizens Movement, partners of Team Unity, openly criticized Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris for allegedly not fulfilling promises made in a signed document prior to assuming office in 2015. Since then, the partners in Team Unity have been publicly combatting each other.
A meeting to decide the way forward for Team Unity is set for Thursday, April 14, 2022.
