Election Day in St. Kitts and Nevis is Monday, February 16, 2015

Election Day in St. Kitts and Nevis is Monday, February 16, 2015
Author

Toni Frederick

Release Date

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

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Election Day in St. Kitts and Nevis is Monday, February 16, as had been widely speculated for the past couple of weeks. Nomination Day is Friday, February 6. The dates were announced in a press release from the Prime Minister's Office late Tuesday afternoon

Traditionally, elections are scheduled on public holidays in the United States, as many nationals living there travel home to vote. February 16 is the last long weekend in the US for the next few months.

Meanwhile, the court injunction granted on January 16 to opposition MPs against the proclamation of new boundary changes into law has been discharged.

In delivering her ruling on Tuesday, Justice Marlene Carter said the governor general’s proclamation of the changes does not rely on the gazette announcing the changes being made available to the public.

That had been a key argument of Christopher Hamel Smith SC, who represents the opposition MPs.

Justice Carter also indicated that the court accepted evidence from the attorney general that the injunction was granted well after the proclamation was signed.

In responding to the judgment, Douglas Mendes SC told the judge that his side intends to appeal the ruling.

He said they were concerned that elections could go ahead on the changed boundaries without an appeal court ruling.

Douglas said that, while the government lawyers pointed to a post-election petition as the way to go, an appeal was the best option.

Mendes also responded to suggestions from government attorneys Dr Henry Browne QC and Sylvester Anthony that he was attempting to get Justice Carter to reverse herself.

Anthony told the court that Mendes wants to stop the election by way of an injunction.

Mendes told the judge that she was not being asked to reverse herself.

He also argued against Anthony's claim that the judge had lost jurisdiction in the matter following her decision.

Mendes denied that the aim was to prevent the prime minister from calling the election. His explanation was that the opposition’s legal team was trying to prevent the new boundaries being used in the election.

The case appears far from over, and Justice Carter was expected to explain the way forward later Tuesday.

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