Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 27, 2020 — The opposition St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) has filed separate injunctions in the High Court challenging the State of Emergency and the denial of its access to state-owned ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC).
Representatives Hon. Konris Maynard, Hon. Marcella Liburd and Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Llewellyn Douglas served the Attorney-General and ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation with constitutional claims filed in the High Court on 22nd and 27th May 2020, seeking an injunction against the Government for infringement of the rights and liberties of the SKNLP, its candidates and supporters, and the people of St. Kitts and Nevis in general.
The claim calls for an urgent hearing and seeks a declaration that the State of Emergency Resolutions are unconstitutional as they were passed contrary to section 19(7) of the Constitution, which requires a specific period to be stated. It further calls for a declaration that the COVID-19 Emergency Regulations are unlawful, disproportionately restrictive, and discriminatory against the SKNLP and its supporters.
“Over the last nine days since the announcement of elections, despite Emergency Regulations being in place, members of the Government and their supporters have been gathering in large numbers for political meetings, while police have been directed to suppress similar opposition activity. This is a colossal infringement of the democratic rights of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party,” the SKNLP statement said.