St Kitts-Nevis Opposition Leader writes to Speaker on exclusion of Opposition from OECS Assembly

St Kitts and Nevis' Leader of the Opposition, the Rt Hon Dr Denzil L Douglas has written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon Michael Perkins requesting a formal apology and explanation for the exclusion of the Parliamentary Opposition from the national delegation that attended the recent Fourth Sitting of the OECS Assembly that was held in Antigua and Barbuda on June 17, 2019.

In the letter Dr Douglas pointed out that Article 10 of The Revised Treaty of Basseterre makes provision for the establishment of the OECS Assembly which is the principal body that reviews legislation passed by the OECS Authority and the regulations made by the respective Ministerial Councils.

"It is my understanding, based on my inquiries with the OECS Commission based in St Lucia, that the Speaker of the various national parliaments of member states is the focal point and lead coordinator responsible for inviting and facilitating the participation of the five government officials who would comprise the national delegation attending the event," Dr Douglas pointed out.

He further pointed out that each Member State at the OECS Assembly, with the Leader of the Opposition having the option of selecting one other member of the opposition benches to attend as well.

"The language of the Treaty is explicit and should need no interpretation, yet, the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition of St Kitts and Nevis has not been invited to any of the three sittings of the OECS Assembly that took place in July 2016, December 2017 and now, June 2019. My absence has not gone unnoticed and has called into question the level of seriousness, priority and commitment that St Kitts and Nevis has toward regional integration and the esteem to which it holds the OECS Assembly," said Dr Douglas, a seven-term parliamentarian and four-term prime minister.

Dr Douglas said the exclusion of the opposition "is unacceptable" and placed on the record his "displeasure and abhorrence over what can be considered as a deliberate act by yourself, in your capacity as the Speaker of the National Assembly, to exclude the participation of the two representatives of the Parliamentary Opposition of St Kitts and Nevis from the recently concluded sitting of the OECS Assembly."

"Such a deliberate act flies in the face of the very democratic principles of transparency, openness, responsiveness and accountability that the OECS Assembly was created to defend," said Dr Douglas in the letter copied to the Hon Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda in his capacity as current Chair of the OECS Authority and Dr Didicus Jules, Director General of the OECS Commission in St Lucia.

Dr Douglas said the Parliamentary Opposition and/or opposition parties play an integral role in the Westminster parliamentary system as an important part of the system of checks and balances that holds the Executive accountable to the people.

"As one who has been privileged to serve the people of the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis on both sides of the political aisle, and who signed the landmark Revised Treaty of Basseterre Establishing OECS Economic Union on behalf of St Kitts and Nevis on June 18, 2010, I understand the rationale for the establishment of the OECS Assembly very clearly and possess a healthy appreciation for the role and value of the Opposition within any democratic system. As Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis during the inter-governmental negotiation of the new Revised Treaty of Basseterre, I was personally involved in helping to design and shape the philosophical underpinnings of the Revised Treaty of which the OECS Assembly was one of three new bodies created to improve governance in the new areas of legislative competence accorded to the OECS Authority," Dr Douglas pointed out to Speaker Perkins.

Dr Douglas further noted that during his tenure as Head of Government the stipulations of the Revised Treaty of Basseterre were strictly adhered to and the Office of the Prime Minister at the time ensured to facilitate the full participation of all five government officials as part of the national delegation of St Kitts and Nevis, which included making arrangements for their accreditation as well as their travel and accommodation.

"The Head of Government along with two other Parliamentarians and the Leader of the Opposition plus one other opposition Parliamentarian comprised the full delegation which attended the inaugural sitting of the OECS Assembly in August 2012. The Opposition representatives who attended this first sitting were the Hon. Mark Brantley and the Hon. Eugene Hamilton," informed Dr Douglas.

"This undemocratic practice of exclusion as a way of silencing the lawfully elected members of the Parliamentary Opposition must end now. Your failure to fulfil your fiduciary responsibility to invite me in my capacity as Leader of the Opposition demonstrates an obscene abuse of the Speaker’s discretion under the laws of St Kitts and Nevis and violates your duty to operate as an impartial entity," said Dr Douglas, who requested Speaker Perkins to provide the reasons for this gross neglect and disrespect.

He also requested that all correspondence regarding the convening of subsequent meetings of the OECS Assembly to be forwarded to the Office of the Leader of the Opposition as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure that its delegation is duly notified and briefed and all logistical arrangements are made to facilitate participation.