‘David’ defeats ‘Goliath’ – TWICE

LEON ‘NATTA’ NELSON HANDED incumbent Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris a litigious licking twice in the St Kitts and Nevis courts after the former disputed his participation in partisan public party politics as a public servant.

Nelson is part of the slate of the St Kitts – Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) opposition party contesting Friday’s national elections. The opposition politician is seeking to dethrone Harris who has had a firm grip on Constituency Seven for multiple years.

Last October, the three-party incumbent Team Unity coalition People’s Labour Party (PLP) Government suspended Nelson, a senior Customs Officer and Accountant, in the Customs and Excise Department, on the grounds that he violated the country’s constitution by appearing as a candidate on the SKNLP list.

‘Natta’ challenged the decision in High Court – and won.

His suspension was also reversed.

Kittitians and Nevisians hailed ‘Natta’s’ legal walloping of Harris, a titan in Constituency Seven, believing it’s a foretaste of this week’s polls.

“This is a man who has defeated the Prime Minister twice in a legal matter in court, and we are confident that he will defeat him again this time via the polls,” a Labour supporter opined.

Said another, “This will be a serious clash. While Dr. Harris used to be very popular, he has lost a lot of the support and I think that his relevance has depleted significantly over the past seven years (as Prime Minister) and many are certainly agitating for a new representative.”

An avalanche of controversies and corruption complaints have overwhelmed Harris and his beleaguered coalition government.

A recent regional poll has predicted that SKNLP will win six of the eight parliamentary seats up for grabs at this year’s polls, called three years in advance due to a successful no confidence motion against the incumbent PLP.

Some are already forecasting the passing of the baton, from Harris to Nelson in Constituency Seven,

“I am confident that Leon will be elected as the new representative considering what has taken place over the past several months,” the voter predicted.

“I think that its time Harris goes. He continues to take us, the voters, for granted. While he proposes great ideas, he is clueless in implementing them. He makes no attempt to execute these ideas successfully. We deserve better. Constituency Seven deserves better,” a member of that political boundary emphasised.

“Sadly, Dr. Harris lied to us his loyal supporters. He never delivered the betterment that he so promised, and he should know that most of those who helped him get into office (now) understand the kind of person he truly is. I am confident that many like me, intend to correct this mistake,” she said.

Residents refer to Constituency Seven as ‘Natta Nation’ making plain the candidate of their choice before Friday’s polls.

For them, ‘Natta’ is in the words of former West Indies cricketing allrounder, Trinidadian Dwayne Bravo, ‘a Champion’.

Maybe conscious that the political tide is swiftly turning against him, Harris has increasingly isolated himself from his regional and international counterparts. The embattled St Kitts-Nevis PM has been staying away from several and international gatherings, and in the meantime has become more despotic.

“Regional Heads of Government became concerned about the dictatorship streak which began to emerge in Harris,” former long-serving SKN Prime Minister, Dr Denzil Douglas, said to www.aroundtheregionss.com in a recent interview.

Some voters plan to emulate the Biblical ‘Prodigal Son’.

“Me and four other family members voted for Dr. Harris (at the 2020 elections). However, we are determined to see the back of this man we thought was a good politician,” a one-time unrepentant SKNLP supporter admitted.

Over the seven years that Harris ruled the 104 square mile (270 Km²) Caribbean Island nation, constituents and his political rivals use the same vocabulary words to describe the incumbent PM: greedy, selfish, spiteful and victimiser.

The female public servant and mother of two who has returned to the SKNLP, said she will “never repeat my mistake by becoming gullible to Harris’ promises.