2010 Saint Kitts and Nevis general election

Background

Before the 2010 election, the Labour Party controlled seven of the eight seats allocated to the island of Saint Kitts in the Assembly. The opposition People's Action Movement (PAM) controlled the other Saint Kitts seat. From nearby Nevis, the Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM) controlled two of Nevis' three seats in the Assembly, while the opposition Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) controlled the other seat.

Prime Minister Douglas, speaking to a crowd of approximately 15,000 in Basseterre on 9 January 2010, announced the dates for the upcoming election. He set Nomination Day for 15 January 2010, with the general election to be held on 25 January.

Conduct

Armed police had to respond to protests alleging voting irregularities in the constituency where the PAM leader Lindsay Grant was up against Glen "Ghost" Phillips of the SKNLP. PAM supporters contended that "outsiders" were being brought into the Half Way Tree Community Centre, 7 mi from the capital Basseterre, to vote. Elsewhere in the country, voting was reported to be calm "amidst overcast skies following some intermittent morning showers."

According to 2022 reporting by the OCCRP, there is evidence that Henley and Partners CEO Christian Kälin helped to finance the campaign of Denzil Douglas. Henley had set up a passport selling scheme in St. Kitts and Nevis during Douglas's tenure. At the same time, Henley entered into at least three agreements with the SCL Group or its affiliated companies to help each other in the Caribbean region. Henley has denied financing the Douglas campaign. However, Douglas stated in an unpublished 2018 interview that Henley did fund his campaign and that the SCL Group was hired to manage the campaign. Henley responded by calling Douglas a liar.

Results

On Saint Kitts, the SKNLP won six out of the eight seats. The PAM gained a new National Assembly member, Eugene Hamilton, while PAM deputy leader Shawn Richards retained his seat. Prime Minister Denzil Douglas retained his seat for Constituency Six by a margin of 1905 votes to 179.

On Nevis, the Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM) won two seats, with the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) taking the third.

References

References

1. (26 January 2010). "St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party elected to a fourth consecutive term in office – Two new comers on the Labour Party Parliamentary slate and one more for the opposition". ZIZ News.
2. . (25 January 2010). ["Labour Party wins fourth term in St. Kitts-Nevis general elections"](http://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/regional/decision-2010-st-kitts-voters-electing-new-government/). *Dominica News Online*.
3. (23 January 2010). "St Kitts and Nevis on final stretch". Stabroek News.
4. (25 January 2010}}{{dead link). "St. Kitts voters cast ballots in early elections". Washington Post.
5. . (8 January 2010). ["January 25th Election Day for St Kitts and Nevis"](http://www.caribbean360.com/news/january-25th-election-day-for-st-kitts-and-nevis).
6. (25 January 2010). "Army, police called to quell St Kitts election disturbance". Jamaica Observer.
7. (25 January 2010). "Voters turn out in numbers to cast their ballots ... percentage of voter turn out could be high". ZIZ News.
8. OCCRP. ""A Faustian Pact": How Henley & Partners' "Passport King" and Cambridge Analytica's Parent Firm Sought to Sway Caribbean Politics".