Judge Hands Down Decision in Boundaries Case

(ZIZ)–The Court has given its ruling in the case surrounding the Boundaries Commission.

On Monday morning, the judge dismissed a number of the grounds advanced by the claimants for their application for judicial review of the commission.

However, he has agreed that there are arguable cases for two grounds.

The Court has granted leave in the case of apparent bias of the Chairman of the Boundaries Commission and the legitimate expectation of the people who were consulted.

The injunction preventing the Governor General from signing off on the new boundaries still stands.

Meanwhile…Chairperson of the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, Hon Marcella Liburd says the government is still confident the proposed boundary changes will be implemented.

According to Minister Liburd, the government wants to ensure that no one person’s vote in any constituency will have a dramatically greater weight than a vote in any other.

She says, “Government believes that in the end the recommended boundary changes will go forward, thereby ensuring that the number of inhabitants in each constituency in St Kitts and Nevis will be roughly the same.”

However, she says in the meantime, they will of course abide by the court’s ruling.

“We are a nation of laws and this matter will proceed in the courts. Let us all continue in our own ways then to preserve and enhance all that we in this nation have built.”

The Labour Party Chair added that they also want to prevent any one parliamentary representative from being responsible for meeting the needs of a constituency in which the number of inhabitants residing in that constituency is dramatically greater than the number of inhabitants than any other.