BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, JUNE 17TH 2013 (CUOPM) – Minister of Health, Community and Social Development, the Hon. Marcella Liburd is of the view that two former government ministers Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris and Hon. Sam Condor have breached their contracts with the people who voted for them and should resign their seats and pave the way for a bi-election in their respective constituencies.
“I think that as elected officials, they can just take a position and foist it on the people. We are saying that is not how it works, the people elect you, you must go back to them and get a fresh mandate from them,” said the lone female Cabinet Minister during an interview on Friday with WINN FM’s Clive Bacchus.
Ms. Liburd, a former Speaker in the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly pointed out that in January 2010 the Labour Party got 60% of the votes from the people.
“So if it is and two of these persons ran on a Labour Party ticket, they didn’t run as Independents. So people expect them to behave in a particular way. They can choose not to behave in that way if they wish,” further pointing out:
“We don’t elect Prime Ministers in this country and I don’t believe they do that in Antigua either. It doesn’t just come from being elected; it comes out of the Party system. You put a ticket together and you go out to the electorate; everyone knows that whoever is the Leader, will become the Prime Minister. And so if people want to become the Prime Minister which is what is happening here. This is a personal agenda that you want to put the country through for your personal agenda.”
She said there is a procedure in the party system.
“If you want to be the Prime Minister, you could put your name up in the Party like it was done in Antigua with Gaston Browne. You put your name up through the Party System and have the people vote for you if you believe so. But no you don’t put your name up, never put your name up for whatever reason and then believe that you can come and just say that you want to be the Prime Minister and put a country through that for your personal agenda?,” she asked.
Ms. Liburd said she was confident that the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party will win the next election.
“It is a matter for the people to decide, but we believe that we have the confidence of the majority of the people in the country,” she said.
“You are elected as a representative of the constituency but you are put there by a party. That is how you got there in the first place. You don’t have to come through a party. You can run on your own, so how do you come through the party, knowing that you have a contract there; who put you up in the constituency and then you decide to betray that contract, breach that contract without coming back to the people. That’s what we are saying. You can run on your own,” she said.