Opposition MP suspended from St Kitts-Nevis parliament

An opposition member of parliament in St Kitts and Nevis found themselves suspended from the chamber today after being found in violation of standing orders.

Konris Maynard, St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party MP for St Christopher 3, will be unable to attend parliament for 10 days – meaning he will miss a sitting next week.

The opposition have blamed the Speaker of National Assembly, Michael Perkins, for "stifling democracy", accusing him of stopping two of their representatives of speaking.

The party's leader, former Prime Minister Denzil Douglas, and Senator Nigel Carty, walked out in protest.

Speaking during a radio interview later in the day, Douglas said: “We feel very strongly that this is a deliberate effort on the part of the government not to have us heard in seriously criticising the government on matters that are fundamental, not only to the democracy of our country but also placing our country on a strong economic and financial path for our future."

He stressed the unfairness of his party being stopped from speaking when five members of the government were still to go.

This isn't the first time that the SKNLP have clashed with Perkins.