BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS – National Political Leader of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP), the Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas said Tuesday that democracy in the twin-island federation will survive.
“It will survive with honest and decent people being elected and appointed to serve. Our democracy will survive,” said Dr. Doulas, whose SKNLP which he has been leading since 1989, is this month celebrating its 85thAnniversary.
He said he will bring to bear his long experience in the county to ensure that democracy prevails in St. Kitts and Nevis.
According to the former prime minister, events to mark the milestone will ensure continued widespread consultation and effective representation.
Dr. Douglas said its leaders including those elected at the constituency level will use the milestone to continue the debate in developing democracy and the role that the SKNLP has played and will continue to play.
“Center to our democracy in a Labour Administration has been continuing discussion and debate and consultation with our people,” said Dr. Douglas who noted that its tenure in Government from 1995 to 2015 saw a significant increase in licenses for newspapers and radio stations.
He said the then Labour Party Administration under his prime ministership instituted a monthly press conference where as the Prime Minister, he briefed the country and took questions from media representatives with regard to government policies.
“My Labour Government also instituted a Post Cabinet Briefing to inform the Nation on decisions taken by the Cabinet – the executive arm of the Government. Face to Face allowed the people to directly ask the Prime Minister and other ministers questions. We also put in place a system where the Parliament met frequently and ensured that major legislation had the input from stakeholders and civil society on its first reading and before it is debated,” said Dr. Douglas.
“Ask the Prime Minister which started in 2008, allowed the public to ask burning issues that were not dealt with by the public servants or ministers on a weekly basis,” said Dr. Douglas, now Leader of the Opposition, who now appears weekly on “Ask the Leader” on Kyss 102.5 FM
“The consultative nature of our democracy is deeply and firmly enshrined within the ethos and the practice of democratic principles within the Labour Party which we believe should be broadly demonstrated at the national level as we did in government at various levels,” said Dr. Douglas, whose SKNLP is still the largest single political party and has dominated the political landscape since adult suffrage was introduced in 1952 by being in government from 1952 to 1980 and 1995 to 2015.
In the 2015 general elections the SKNLP, led by the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, remained the largest single party in St. Kitts and Nevis, gaining 11,897 votes to the Hon. Shawn Richards’ People’s Action Movement (PAM), 8,452, the Hon. Vance Amory’s Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) 3, 951 votes; the Hon. Joseph Parry’s (Nevis Reformation Party (NRP), 3,276 votes and Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris’ People’s Labour Party (PLP), 2,723.
Seatwise in the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly, the PAM holds 4 seats, the SKNLP, 3 seats, the CCM, two seats and the NRP and the PLP, 1 seat each.
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