Saint Kitts & Nevis - Politics
St. Kitts and Nevis are islands in the Caribbean Sea, between Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago. The total land area of the islands is 261 square kilometers (St. Kitts 168 square kilometers and Nevis 93 square kilometers). The population of the islands is approximately 45,000 persons. The economy of the islands is dependent on tourism, which since the 1970s has replaced sugar as the chief source of income.
The government finally closed the sugar industry down after the 2005 harvest: it had been running at a loss for some years. The islands have sought to diversify their agricultural sector and to pursue economic growth through attracting cruise ships, offshore banking, and small manufacturing enterprises, but the economy is burdened with a high level of public debt and, like other islands in the region, St. Kitts and Nevis are vulnerable to natural disasters, particularly hurricanes, and shifts in tourism demand. In 1967, St. Kitts and Nevis, together with Anguilla, became a self-governing state in association with Great Britain. Anguilla seceded later that year and remains a British dependency. The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis attained full independence on 19 September 1983.
The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis operates a parliamentary system of government on the Westminster model. The Federation has been, since 1983, an independent sovereign state, but remains a member of the British Commonwealth, and the Queen of Great Britain is the nominal Head of State; her representative in St. Kitts and Nevis is the Governor-General, who technically appoints the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, other ministers of the government, the leader of the Opposition in Parliament, and members of the Public Service Commission and Police Service Commission. The legislature is unicameral, with a parliament known as the National Assembly, established by the 1983 Constitution to replace the House of Assembly. After the 1984 elections, the assembly was composed of eleven elected members, or representatives, and three appointed members, or senators. Two of the senators are appointed by the GovernorGeneral on the advice of the Prime Minister. The other is named on the advice of the leader of the opposition. Both representatives and senators serve five-year terms.
The island of Nevis elects representatives both to the National Assembly and to its own Nevis Island Assembly, a separate 8-member body (five elected, three appointed) charged with regulating local affairs. A member of the federal parliament can simultaneously serve on the local Assembly. The Nevis Island Assembly is subordinate to the National Assembly only with regard to external affairs and defense and in cases where similar but not identical legislation is passed by both bodies.
An unusual feature of the political system governing the islands is that the Nevisian vote can profoundly affect the complexion of the National Assembly, as in a hung parliament the Nevisian party that wins most seats will have the chance to form a ruling coalition, or not, with either one of the leading Kittitian parties. Nevis, however, is largely spared the incursions of Kittitian parties on its territory. This has not prevented Nevis from repeatedly, in recent history, exploring the possibility of secession from the Federation, though the defeat of this motion in a 1998 referendum makes this possibility seem currently remote. In 1998, 62% majority of Nevisians voted for secession from the federation with St. Kitts; however, a twothirds majority was required in order to make the split a reality. Secession is provided for in the Constitution (Section 113) and is dependent on a two-thirds majority vote by special referendum.
Amounts spent on campaigning, especially for media, have risen significantly in the past thirty years. Large-scale campaign events typically resemble stadium concerts to which popular performing artists from the Caribbean and the USA are invited. A member of parliament of one party openly noted to the OAS Observer Mission that the cost to parties of flying in eligible voters resident abroad was large and increasing. Indeed, the OAS Mission witnessed the arrival immediately prior to the election of many charter flights full of non-resident voters. It is not illegal for parties to assist such voters in coming back to St. Kitts and Nevis to vote; however, the question arises whether parties with greater funds at their disposal are in this way enabled to expand their electoral success by offering non-resident voters the inducement of free flights home.
The issue of creating more transparency, accountability, and regulation in campaign financing in St. Kitts and Nevis, establishing caps on campaign spending, and the possibility of limited public financing for all parties and limited public airtime, to “level the playing field” among contestants has not been a priority in political debate, though the PAM, in its 2010 manifesto, proposed new legislation on Good Governance, including Integrity in Public Life. So far, however, no party has acted to create and implement legislation, or even a voluntary Code of Conduct, regarding political funding.
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