There was some celebration in downtown Charlestown, in front of the NRP headquarters, but by 9:30am the crowds had disappeared, with small groups of supporters travelling through nearby villages, celebrating their victory with a mini-motorcade.

The highlight  of the celebration was when Premier Designate, the Joseph Parry made a statement to the huge crowd gathered at the Charlestown Headquarters saying to them, “Supporters we are victorious, let us continue to take Nevis Forward!”

Many residents were observed, by early afternoon, in calm but deep discussion about the results of the Poll.

Pockets of supporters from the two parties, CCM and NRP congregated separately  in small groups, in St. Johns and St. Paul, though the streets were mostly occupied by the individuals, who appeared to be supporters of NRP, out in their party t-shirts and other merchandise.

For many CCM supporters Tuesday morning was spent in a quiet reflection and disbelief, that their team was not declared winners of the Poll.

Some CCM members had earlier begun a premature celebration, around 3:30am when it appeared that with only one box to go and their candidate Mark Brantley, leading the NRP’s Hensley Daniel by 116 votes, they thought victory was in the bag. So did the NRP, whose headquarters at the time was mostly deserted and only CCM members could be heard and seen on the streets.

At that point it seemed like the writing was on the wall for NRP, but the returns from the final box  in Cox, destroyed all hopes, with Daniel polling 235 to Brantley’s 105 to secure a ‘come from  behind’ victory, by only 14 votes (with 14 spoilt ballots).

It is a race that has always been close between these two candidates with Daniel winning in 2006, by about 23 votes.

Generally, the political culture of Nevis may have been changed, as a result of the heated battle of Monday’s local elections, and there were no immediate signs, that the people of Nevis were ready to restore their island, to the tranquil paradise it has always been.