General elections were held in
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis (), officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country and microstate consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain ...
on 25 January 2010 for eleven of the fourteen or fifteen seats in the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
. The other three or four members of the National Assembly will be appointed by the
Governor-General after the elections.
The ruling
Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party
The Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP), also known simply as Labour, is a centre-left political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. It is currently in government in the country after winning six of the eleven seats in the 2022 general electio ...
(SKNLP), led by
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Denzil Douglas
Denzil Llewellyn Douglas (born 14 January 1953) is a Saint Kittitian and Nevisian politician and the longest-serving prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, in office from 1995 to 2015. Subsequently he has been Leader of the Opposition. He was t ...
, won a fourth term in office.
It was opposed in the campaign by the opposition
People's Action Movement
The People's Action Movement (PAM) is a political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The party currently holds four (largest share) of the 11 seats in the National Assembly. PAM operates only in Saint Kitts and for the 2022 general election is in a ...
(PAM), led by
Lindsay Grant. Both parties received much of their support from the island of
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...
, which chooses eight of the eleven elected members of the National Assembly.
On the neighboring island of
Nevis
Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and ...
, local parties, including the
Nevis Reformation Party
The Nevis Reformation Party is a Nevis-based political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The party currently holds none of the eleven seats in the National Assembly of Saint Kitts and Nevis, National Assembly. It is the official opposition party on ...
(NRP) and the
Concerned Citizens' Movement
The Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM) is a Nevis-based political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Led by Mark Brantley, it is currently the largest party in Nevis, holding all three seats Nevisian seats in the National Assembly and three out of f ...
(CCM), vied for three seats in the National Assembly. Support from Nevisian political parties could decide control of the national government in a tight election.
[
The continuing ]economic crisis
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...
was a major issue in the campaign.[ The national debt of Saint Kitts and Nevis had risen to US$2 billion under the SKNLP government,] roughly $50,000 per citizen. Prime Minister Denzil Douglas shrugged off accusations that he had let the debt spiral upward during his fifteen years in office:[
]
Background
Before the 2010 election, the Labour Party controlled seven of the eight seats allocated to the island of Saint Kitts in the Assembly. The opposition People's Action Movement
The People's Action Movement (PAM) is a political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The party currently holds four (largest share) of the 11 seats in the National Assembly. PAM operates only in Saint Kitts and for the 2022 general election is in a ...
(PAM) controlled the other Saint Kitts seat. From nearby Nevis, the Concerned Citizens' Movement
The Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM) is a Nevis-based political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Led by Mark Brantley, it is currently the largest party in Nevis, holding all three seats Nevisian seats in the National Assembly and three out of f ...
(CCM) controlled two of Nevis' three seats in the Assembly, while the opposition Nevis Reformation Party
The Nevis Reformation Party is a Nevis-based political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The party currently holds none of the eleven seats in the National Assembly of Saint Kitts and Nevis, National Assembly. It is the official opposition party on ...
(NRP) controlled the other seat.
Prime Minister Douglas, speaking to a crowd of approximately 15,000 in Basseterre
Basseterre (; Saint Kitts Creole: ''Basterre'') is the capital and largest city of Saint Kitts and Nevis with an estimated population of 14,000 in 2018. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at , on the south western coast of Saint Kit ...
on 9 January 2010, announced the dates for the upcoming election. He set Nomination Day for 15 January 2010, with the general election to be held on 25 January.[
]
Conduct
Armed police had to respond to protests alleging voting irregularities in the constituency where the PAM leader Lindsay Grant was up against Glen "Ghost" Phillips of the SKNLP. PAM supporters contended that "outsiders" were being brought into the Half Way Tree Community Centre, seven miles (11 km) from the capital Basseterre, to vote. Elsewhere in the country, voting was reported to be calm "amidst overcast skies following some intermittent morning showers."
According to 2022 reporting by the OCCRP, there is evidence that Henley and Partners CEO Christian Kälin helped to finance the campaign of Denzil Douglas
Denzil Llewellyn Douglas (born 14 January 1953) is a Saint Kittitian and Nevisian politician and the longest-serving prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, in office from 1995 to 2015. Subsequently he has been Leader of the Opposition. He was t ...
. Henley had set up a passport selling scheme in St. Kitts and Nevis during Douglas's tenure. At the same time, Henley entered into at least three agreements with the SCL Group
SCL Group (formerly Strategic Communication Laboratories) was a private British behavioural research and strategic communication company that came to prominence through the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal involving its subsidiaries ...
or its affiliated companies to help each other in the Caribbean region. Henley has denied financing the Douglas campaign. However, Douglas stated in an unpublished 2018 interview that Henley did fund his campaign and that the SCL Group was hired to manage the campaign. Henley responded by calling Douglas a liar.
Results
On Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...
, the SKNLP won six out of the eight seats. The PAM gained a new National Assembly member, Eugene Hamilton, while PAM deputy leader Shawn Richards
Shawn Kenneth Richards (born 8 December 1972) is a Saint Kitts and Nevis politician from People's Action Movement.
In politics
Richards has been the leader of the People's Action Movement since 2012, and a member of the National Assembly of Saint ...
retained his seat.[ Prime Minister Denzil Douglas retained his seat for Constituency Six by a margin of 1905 votes to 179.][
On ]Nevis
Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and ...
, the Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM) won two seats, with the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) taking the third.[
]
References
{{Saint Kitts and Nevis elections
Saint Kitts
Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...
Elections in Saint Kitts and Nevis
2010 in Saint Kitts and Nevis