ST GEORGE’S, Grenada (CMC) – Caribbean government Tuesday maintained pressure on the Supervisor of Elections in St Kitts & Nevis, Wingrove George, to declare the results of the elections held in the twin island Federation on Monday.
“From what I understood is happening is that the supervisor stopped counting votes in certain constituencies and this is rather frightening,” Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell said.
“Therefore my own position and speaking on behalf of the government and people of Grenada … is that I am calling on the supervisor of elections to declare the results of the elections as the people expect … the people have voted, let the mandate of the people prevail and that’s the way I see it,” he added.
George, the Supervisor of Elections in St Kitts-Nevis, has not yet made any public statement on the issue, but earlier, an announcer on the state-owned ZIZ radio and television said the count had come to a halt.
“The count in St Kitts-Nevis has come to a halt. The Supervisor of Elections has advised that for the rest of this morning in any event, no further public announcement will be made in respect of the count.
“We wait to hear what exactly has transpired in the last hour or so that we had the delay which would have led to us being in this situation,” said the announcer.
She said at the moment three seats had been declared for the ruling St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party/Nevis Reformation Party and one for Team Unity.
“St Kitts-Nevis still stands waiting to see what the outcome of the elections in St Kitts-Nevis will be. We continue to monitor the situation … and keep you informed,” the announcer said.
The elections had been contested between the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) and Team Unity, an amalgam of three opposition parties. They were seeking control of the 15-member National Assembly.
The opposition party says it has won at least seven of the seats in the elections, giving it control of the parliament.
Prime Minister Denzil Douglas was aiming to become the first regional leader to win five consecutive general elections. Both parties had fielded 11 candidates each.
Prime Minister Mitchell said that “it is therefore disheartening and difficult to understand that as we sit here this morning that the people of St Kitts have not had an official statement from the supervisor of elections as far as the results are concerned.
“Therefore the entire Caribbean region is certainly looking at this and cannot sit by and allow what is happening in St Kitts to continue,” he said, adding that Grenada does not want to interfere with the internal politics of St Kitts but he feels the pain for what the people are going through.
He says the development in St Kitts-Nevis has implications for the entire Caribbean
“My heart right now aches for the people of St Kitts and by implication the Caribbean region as a whole …whatever happens in one country in the region in terms of the perception of the democratic process and the principles of our parliamentary system certainly affects every single Caribbean country as a whole.
“So I ache for St Kitts and I ache for the people of the region at this time. In our normal process of elections in this region, we have a name for meeting the fundamental principles of our parliamentary system and especially as far as our elections are concerned,” Mitchell said.
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar has also commented on the situation, noting that while her administration respects the independence of all lawful institutions in St Kitts-Nevis, “at the same time we feel that the failure of the Supervisor of Elections to declare the results in a timely manner might create the impression that there is interference in the democratic process, which we in the Caribbean Community cherish.
“I am also concerned that the region’s reputation for democracy and for free and fair elections will be under threat as long as this issue in St Kitts and Nevis remains unresolved,” she added.
Prime Minister Persad Bissessar noted that in any event, the law does not generally allow the suspension of any part of the process until the respective returning officers return the writs. 
“It is the return of the writs that allows the public and the Governor General to know definitively what is the will of the people.
“As a region we have to be very careful of the messages that we send and that which is emanating from St Kitts and Nevis is not the kind of message we want to send to our people and to the world,” she said, adding “we await the results of the vote and would welcome whoever is the winner”.
Meanwhile, the Commonwealth and the Organisation of American States (OAS) Tuesday appealed for calm.
In a joint statement, the two international bodies that sent teams to observe the polls, said that they wanted to “emphasise the civic engagement of the citizens of St Kitts and Nevis who have expressed their democratic convictions by participating actively in the General Elections.
“The Missions call on leaders of the various political parties and the citizenry to patiently await the official results that as confirmed by the Supervisor of Elections will be published during the course of today.”
The OAS and the Commonwealth said they have been following the electoral process including the opening of polling stations and the counting process and they will continue to observe the process.