BASSETERRE, St Kitts, (CMC) – Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris Thursday said the country remains “stable” and urged “restrain” as Governor-General, Sir Samuel Weymouth Tapley Seaton, said he is awaiting “formal legal advice” before acting on an “undated” letter sent to him by seven government legislators indicating that they have no confidence in the prime minister.
In his letter to the legislators that included Deputy Prime Minister Shawn Richards and the Nevis Premier Mark Brantley, the governor-general wrote acknowledging receipt “of a communication addressed to me” which “bears no date.
“I note the request contained therein. Consistent with my duty to seek formal legal advice, I wish to advise that I will do so and revert to you at the earliest,” said the two-paragraph letter.
Prime Minister Harris in a broadcast in which he spoke almost entirely about the late former Nevis premier, Vance Amory, who will be buried on Saturday, said nonetheless that citizens are aware of “certain misgivings in the public domain with respect to the issues raised by the Team Unity partners.
“I wish to assure you, as your prime minister that the country remains stable and every effort will be made to maintain the peace and tranquility of our beloved Federation.
“I have taken steps as prime minister to answer the several issues raised by my partners in the Team Unity coalition. I have responded to those issues in writing. I intend to respect the period of mourning. I call on all political actors and parties to exercise restraint and demonstrate good judgment and respect during this period,” said Harris, who led the coalition to its first victory in 2015.
Last week, Harris, who was re-appointed head of the government following the 2020 general election, was given an April 20 deadline to resolve the issues facing the coalition government or dissolve Parliament and pave the way for fresh general elections as the rift within the administration widened.
Harris had said last week that the issues confronting the government related to governance and transparency, a reassignment of ministerial duties, the external involvement of global financial institutions, and an increase in the operating budget of Nevis.
The coalition government comprises Harris’s People’s Labour Party (PLP) Richards’s People’s Action Movement (PAM) and Brantley’s Concerned Citizen’s Movement (CCM). The PLP controls two of the nine seats in the coalition Team Unity government.
Brantley, speaking on a radio programme here on Thursday, said that the seven legislators had written to the Governor-General indicating that “Dr. Timothy Harris does not command the support of the majority of elected members in the National Assembly.
“It is a matter for the GG (Governor-General), his Excellency to act. We believe based on legal advice that we have taken that he does in fact have the authority to act and therefore we have invited him to do so,” said Brantley.
In a statement Thursday, Richards said that the legislators have since indicated to the governor-general that they support him for the position of prime minister and “I have since indicated to my colleagues that I am willing and able to lead.
“And so at this defining moment in our history, I am also here to declare to the wider nation that I am also ready to lead. You can count on me to keep my word; to be faithful and to be a genuine team player.
“Today we have all faced the truth together. And so, we beg for the support of people of good conscience and all political persuasion; and for the people who have faith in our democracy.”
Richards said he understood that “at this hour high-level discussions are taking place at many levels, and that the relevant legal advice is being sought.
“We also understand that the representative for constituency #7 (Prime Minister Harris) may be seeking to make other arrangements or to even trigger a fresh national election.