Prime Minister Douglas explains path to prime ministership

PM Douglas

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, FEBRUARY 12TH 2013 (CUOPM) – St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas has explained the proper path to the prime minister ship in the twin-island federation.

“There are three steps to take. Firstly, make sure you become Leader of your Party. Two, take your party and its supporters to the electorate and win an election and when you would have won, have your colleagues agree with you so that the Governor General can determine who is the person (in his opinion), is best to lead those who have their majority,” explained Prime Minister Douglas during his weekly radio programme “Ask the Prime Minister” on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Douglas in a nationwide address to the nation in which he sacked his Senior Minister Dr. The Hon. Timothy Harris, said last month, he had “formed the view that the Senior Minister will not participate meaningfully in the Government unless he is appointed Prime Minister.”

Reiterating the steps to be taken, Prime Minister Douglas said: “Any of us in this country must have the right to advance to become the leader of our country. Any of us in our party must have that right.”

Stating that he would not bypass the procedures and handover the prime ministership on a platter to anyone.

“I am not handpicking anybody. I am not going to do that because a process has to be gone through and we have seen in the Caribbean in particular, whenever a leader handpicks his successor, it fails. Every single country in the Caribbean, we can see that happening and in our case we have a constitution which gives three steps,” said Prime Minister Douglas.