2015 Saint Kitts and Nevis general election

General elections were held in Saint Kitts and Nevis on 16 February 2015. The ruling Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Denzil Douglas, was defeated by Team Unity, an alliance of the Concerned Citizens' Movement, the People's Action Movement, and the People's Labour Party, led by Timothy Harris.

2015 Saint Kitts and Nevis general election

← 201016 February 20152020 →

11 of 15 seats to the National Assembly
6 seats needed for a majority
Turnout72.19%
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
LeaderShawn RichardsDenzil DouglasVance Amory
PartyPAMSKNLPCCM
Leader's seatSt Christopher #5St Christopher #6Nevis #10
Last election32.24%, 2 seats46.96%, 6 seats10.99%, 2 seats
Seats won432
Seat changeIncrease2Decrease3Steady
Popular vote8,45211,8973,951
Percentage27.90%39.27%13.04%
SwingDecrease4.34ppDecrease7.69ppIncrease2.05pp

 Fourth partyFifth party
 
LeaderJoseph ParryTimothy Harris
PartyNRPPLP
Leader's seatDid not runSt Christopher #7
Last election9.75%, 1 seat
Seats won11
Seat changeSteadyNew
Popular vote3,2762,723
Percentage10.81%9.0%
SwingIncrease1.06ppNew

Prime Minister before election

Denzil Douglas
SKNLP

Elected Prime Minister

Timothy Harris
PLP

Campaign

Prior to the elections, three opposition parties, the People's Action Movement, the People's Labour Party and the Concerned Citizens' Movement formed the Team Unity alliance.[1] The three parties did not stand against each other, and formed the sole opposition to the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party on Saint Kitts and to the Nevis Reformation Party on Nevis.

Electoral system

Eleven of the fifteen seats in the National Assembly were elected, with three other members appointed by the Governor-General at some point after the elections and one seat held by the Attorney-General.[2] The eleven elected seats were elected in single-member constituencies using plurality voting.[3]

Results

On Saint Kitts, the People's Action Movement won four of the eight seats, whilst the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party lost half their seats. Contesting their first elections, the People's Labour Party won one seat. On Nevis, two seats were won by the Concerned Citizens' Movement and the third by the Nevis Reformation Party.[1]

The outgoing coalition (SKNLP and NRP) secured 50.08% of votes but got only 4 seats due to the single-member plurality electoral system. This was also the first election in the country where the individual party that won the most votes did not win the most seats.

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party11,89739.273–3
People's Action Movement8,45227.904+2
Concerned Citizens' Movement3,95113.0420
Nevis Reformation Party3,27610.8110
People's Labour Party2,7238.991New
Appointed members40
Total30,299100.00150
Valid votes30,29999.49
Invalid/blank votes1560.51
Total votes30,455100.00
Registered voters/turnout42,18572.19
Source: SKN Vibes

Elected MPs

MPsPartyConstituency
 Ian LiburdPeople's Action MovementSt Christopher #1
 Marcella LiburdSaint Kitts and Nevis Labour PartySt Christopher #2
 Konris MaynardSaint Kitts and Nevis Labour PartySt Christopher #3
 Lindsay GrantPeople's Action MovementSt Christopher #4
 Shawn RichardsPeople's Action MovementSt Christopher #5
 Denzil DouglasSaint Kitts and Nevis Labour PartySt Christopher #6
 Timothy HarrisPeople's Labour PartySt Christopher #7
 Eugene HamiltonPeople's Action MovementSt Christopher #8
 Mark BrantleyConcerned Citizens' MovementNevis #9
 Vance AmoryConcerned Citizens' MovementNevis #10
 Patrice NisbettNevis Reformation PartyNevis #11

References