Speaker Refutes Harris
By Erasmus Williams
BASSETERRE – Speaker of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly, Hon. Lanein Blanchette has strongly refuted public statements by former prime minister and opposition parliamentarian, Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris, that the Parliament of St. Christopher and Nevis is in disarray since she took office and accused him of a desire to darken the halls of Parliament with his political antics.
In a statement at the start of this morning’s sitting of the lawmaking body, Speaker Blanchette said that on taking office following the general election of August 2022, there was no Hansard system in place for the Office of The Clerk to prepare minutes in accordance with Standing Order 11 (1), which states that “the Clerk shall keep the Minutes of the proceedings of the National Assembly and of Committees of the whole National Assembly, which shall record the names of members attending, all decisions taken and details of every division held.”
Speaker Blanchette also said there was no alternative mechanism for recording or preparing minutes in place when the new Administration officially took office in August 2022.
The Speaker said that recognizing the importance of accuracy and transparency in parliamentary recordkeeping, she took “deliberate steps to remedy this gap by securing the services of a professional stenographer to assist the Clerk’s Office in preparing the official minutes.”
She said since the installation of Stenographer, upon completion, each set of minutes has been meticulously reviewed by her Office, pointing out that the minutes which were confirmed at the 6th October, 2025 meeting of the National Assembly, “were circulated by the Office of the Clerk electronically to all Members of Parliament on 11th July, 2025—three months in advance of the October 6th 2025 sitting), inviting proposed amendments.”
She further stated that all Members of Parliament were afforded a further opportunity to indicate any corrections during the sitting of 6th October, 2025.
“To be clear, while it is being wrongly suggested that there was a breach of the rules of Parliament, I am confirming that no Standing Orders were breached, and the minutes were confirmed with no opposing vote,” adding “to suggest [by Dr. Timothy Harris] that an illegality was committed in this regard is both dishonest and reckless and further, clearly motivated by a misplaced desire to darken the halls of this Honourable Parliament with political antics.”
Speaker Blanchette reiterated that the procedure employed “was consistent with parliamentary standards and the principles of good governance, maintained by this Parliament under my leadership.”
Speaker Blanchette further pointed out that during the October 6th sitting, the Honourable Member for Saint Christopher 7 [Dr. Harris] (who stood on a point of order to query the procedure) was offered an opportunity to provide any amendments.
“The Honourable member (consistent with behavior displayed in past parliaments) opted to leave the Parliamentary Chambers without proposing any amendment or participating in the vote to confirm the minutes,” said Speaker Blanchette.
She reminded Members of Parliament and the people of St Kitts and Nevis that the confirmation of minutes on October 6th 2025 was “lawfully completed.”