By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Thursday 25th November 2021) — Leader of the Opposition (SKNLP) and former Prime Minister Dr. Denzil L. Douglas has addressed the timeline for the change in leadership of the party after he would have served for thirty-two (32) years in the elected position.
“The question has been asked why now and not before. The answer is the time has now come. The time had never come before. I say that because you would remember back in 2012 there were several attempts made to deal with succession and transition; those attempts failed. As a result of that, members of the party government left, so it meant that I had to serve a little longer to ensure that there was stability again in the party,” he said while replying to media questions during an SKNLP press conference held on Thursday 25th November 2021 at the Llewellyn’s Haven located at Fortlands in Basseterre.
The media session comes days ahead of the party’s electoral conference — slated for Sunday 28th November — whereby a new national leader will emerge as part of the executive body, replacing Dr. Douglas. The three leadership nominees — Dr. Terrance Drew, Konris Maynard and Dr. Geoffrey Hanley — were also seated at the head table.
Dr. Douglas recalled bringing in new people in 2013, including Dr. Drew, Maynard and Dr. Vance Gilbert, but said there were failures: “I thought that 2020 would have been my last election but again, we failed — failed to form the government.” He expressed: “I believe that there has been sufficient work that has been done in the past. I believe that this is the time for me to move on, and I’m comfortable in moving on.”
Commenting on what he intends to do to help the SKNLP, he remarked: “One of the things I’ve said before is to help to ensure that this race does not descend into sharp, long-term or permanent division in our party. What will I do? I will serve in any way that the party wants me to serve. I’m presently in the Parliament. I’m the leader of the opposition. I serve the interest of the people of Constituency Number Six.” He also spoke about the party’s Legacy Council, established at the Constitutional Conference in May 2021, which will help define what role former party leaders can play going forward.