BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – DESPITE being heavily criticised in the public for his continued leadership of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP), Dr. Denzil Douglas has informed that they have a succession plan and it “is ongoing”.
He made that announcement, among others, at a Labour Party press conference at Koi Offices yesterday (Nov. 1), when asked by SKNVibes about succession plans for his party.
According to the leader, the party was advised by a team of political scientists from the University of the West Indies on succession.
“And that is in fact ongoing! In fact, I should say that when in May of this year at our party conference, we tried to introduce two deputies instead of one, which has been the practice over the year. That was a central part of the succession planning being implemented.”
The idea behind that, he said, is to broaden the base of the “upper echelons” of the party.
“We felt that in order to ensure that no one was discarded, but to add members or delegates and give people in the party the opportunity to choose...”
He added that it is their view that members at the lower levels would be given the opportunity to move forward and eventually into the top positions, and possibly leadership of the SKNLP.
Currently, the party is at a crossroad where it is seeking to rebuild and rebrand after its loss in the 2015 General Elections to the tri-party coalition Team Unity.
After some 20 years in government, the SKNLP took a bruising defeat, losing five of the eight seats in St. Kitts, while its ally, the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP), lost two of the three seats in Nevis.
Douglas however sent a strong message to those people who he claimed are obsessed with him being the party leader: “I love their obsession because the party has a constitution that speaks to how the leadership of the party is determined.”
“Every single year that is being practiced, and I am grateful as the leader of the party at this time for the opportunity to have served for a long time.
“In fact, I believed that I have served with distinction. But if my party asks me to stay on beyond 2015, 2016 and again in 2017 to assist the party in its restructuring and rebuilding efforts so that it can present itself as a credible alternative, I would do so.”
