Team Unity gets second term in office of Government in St Kitts and Nevis

Team Unity has retained power in St Kitts and Nevis with a substantial increase in the number of parliamentary seats. The results of all eleven seats are out, announcing a second term for the incumbent government.

St Kitts and Nevis Labour party received an unexpected defeat from their rival team unity, SKNLP could only succeed to win only one seat where the party leader Dr Denzil Douglas gained the majority in constituency number 6.

Concerned Citizens Movement has won total three seats; similarly, the People's Action Movement is victorious on three seats while Dr Timothy Harris led People's Labour Party now has two seats including Dr Harris' from number 7 and Akilah Byron-Nisbitt from constituency number three.

Concerned Citizen's Movement under the leadership of incumbent Mark Brantley performed exceptionally well in these elections and won three of the total seats of Nevis.

After elections took place on Friday, the voting counting was started in the late evening. The first victory was declared of CCM from Nevis 10 seat where Eric Evelyn defeated Bjorn Hanely. From this constituency, CCM received 710 seats while Nevis Reformers Party (NRP) received 167.

In constituency number 1, St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party candidate Geoffrey Hanley defeated PAM candidate Ian Patches Liburd. Similarly, PAM has also won the constituency number two, where Jonel Powell defeated Marcella Liburd, the two time representative of St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party.

People's Labour Party candidate Akilah Nisbett-Byron has become the first non SKNLP candidate to triumph constituency number 03 which had always been a sturdy hold of St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party.

In constituency number four, Lindsay Grant of People's Action Movement defeated St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party candidate Steve Wrensford with 351 votes.

Besides this, incumbent Shawn Richards of PAM retained power by defeating St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party candidate Kenneth Douglas from constituency number five. Richards received 1296 votes and Kenneth Douglas 721.

In constituency number six, leader of St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party Dr Denzil L. Douglas won and defeated the People's Labour Party candidate Kevin Williams with 1087 votes.

Furthermore, Dr Timothy Harris (PLP) won in constituency number seven and received 1870 while Leon Natta-Nelson (SKNLP) gained only 607 ballots.

St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party candidate Terrance Drew lost to People's Action Movement Candidate Eugene Hamilton with the margin of 555 votes.

In Nevis, constituency number nine, Mark Brantley, leader of Concerned Citizens Movement won from Nevis Reformer Party candidate Dr Kelvin Daly with 538 votes.

Constituency number eleven in Nevis faced a tough fight in initial trends where NRP candidate Patrice Nisbett was leading with a notable difference; however, he later lost to Alexis Jeffers (CCM) with 197 votes only.

It has been a historic victory for Team Unity in these elections. It is believed that the coalition of three parties won the polls on how they tackled coronavirus crisis in the country by being one of the first nations in the region to close its borders to hotspots of the virus.

St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party is considered to be one of the oldest in the region, while Team Unity was formed in 2013 where three parties CCM, PAM and PLP came together on the good governance agenda and formed a political front that formed its first government in 2015.

In these general elections, 23 candidates from five different political fronts participated including one independent candidate named Jason Thomas from constituency number four.

The country experienced its general elections in these unprecedented times of COVID-19 crisis which is why all health protocols were followed, even the election observers from abroad were allowed to observe the process by following the strict health guidelines.

As the country is under a state of emergency because of the coronavirus crisis, all political public meetings and launchings were done virtually on social media platforms.