Saint Kitts & Nevis - 2015 Elections
The constitution provides citizens the ability to choose their government in free and fair periodic elections based on universal and equal suffrage, and citizens exercised that ability. Voters elect 11 members of the National Assembly, and the governor general appoints a three-person Senate, two on the recommendation of the prime minister and one on the recommendation of the opposition leader.
On February 16, 2015, the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis held elections to choose a Prime Minister and members of the National Assembly for the next five years. A total of 22 candidates ran for election in 11 constituencies. Over 72% of St. Kitts and Nevis’ 42,185 registered voters went to the polls. In the 2015 elections, Team Unity, a coalition of three opposition parties, defeated the previously ruling Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party and won seven of the elected seats in the legislature. Team Unity leader Timothy Harris was elected prime minister. On February 18, Dr. Timothy Harris was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis. Final results gave seven seats to the opposition coalition, Team Unity; three seats to the St. Kitts and Nevis Labor Party; and one seat to the Nevis Reformation Party.
Observers from the Organization of American States generally labeled the elections as free and fair but indicated that procedures for the release of voter lists needed to be improved. The Mission reiterated its recommendation following the 2010 general elections, that legislation should be considered to guarantee media access to all political parties. The Observation Mission also reiterated the 2010 OAS/EOM recommendation with regard to a cross-party accord on political financing that would promote transparency and accountability in St. Kitts and Nevis. Furthermore, consideration should be given to enacting legislation on the issue. In the view of the observer Mission, the Constituency Boundaries Commission should function as a permanent institution and be integrated by non-partisan members with the necessary technical expertise to manage such a legal and technically complex process.
The electoral campaign was characterized by a tense political climate. Many concerns were raised about the administrative and logistical aspects of the organization of the electoral process by the electoral authority. The lack of communication by the Electoral Office in the lead-up to the elections was certainly crucial in the perception and confidence the different actors had in the electoral process. The scarce information available to the general public on the organization and preparations for the election was undoubtedly one of the main issues that overshadowed the process.
Political parties are not required to adopt standardized accounting mechanisms or produce reports to the electoral authority. Neither the Electoral Commission nor the Supervisor of Elections has the mandate to audit campaign finances. Because political parties publish little information about the sources of their financing, citizens lack access to such information. The lack of transparency and the absence of rules or restrictions on campaign donations make it difficult to know the amounts, groups, or individuals involved in financing campaigns. The current regime is characterized by an absence of regulations or restrictions on the amount that parties can raise or spend for electoral purposes. There are no prohibitions, for example, on anonymous or foreign donations, as is the case in much of the region.
Former supervisor of elections Wingrove “Parrot” George was arrested 15 December 2017 in connection irregularities with the February 2015 federal election. George’s arrest for the irregularities with the February 2015 election has him charged with two felony counts of misconduct in public office. He was granted bail for $50,000 with two sureties. The charges relate to George’s alleged misconduct relating to delaying the announcement of results two after it was revealed that the incumbent labour candidates had narrowly lost those seats. George announced at around 4 a.m. that no further results would be given, but gave no clear reason as to why. Following pressure from regional leaders, the full election results were delivered two days after.
The island of Nevis exercises considerable self-government with its own premier and legislature, and it has the right to secede from the federation in accordance with certain enumerated procedures. In 2013 Nevis held its local elections in which voters elected Concerned Citizens’ Movement opposition candidate Vance Amory as the premier of Nevis for a five-year term. The elections were generally free and fair, although officials released voter lists late in some of the districts.
The Caribbean island of Nevis was given a public holiday in celebration of a successful win for the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) who triumphed in local elections 18 December 2017. Both the ruling Concerned Citizens Movement and the opposition Nevis Reformation Party fielded a full slate of 5 candidates each. Honorable Mark Brantley received a congratulatory from St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris after the party’s gain of four out of the five seats in the Nevis Reformation Party (NPR) for the second consecutive term. “We have won the #Nevis elections and I am humbled to have been given the chance to lead as our island’s 4th Premier. God bless Nevis,” Brantley wrote on his Twitter account. Party members Alexis Jeffers, Eric Evelyn, Spencer Bran were also elected to the 11,000 some voters who participated in elections. The last seat was won by former NRP premier Joseph Perry.
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