Amory made this pronouncement, among others, on Thursday 14th August, 2014, in the capacity of Chairman of a press conference organised by Team Unity at the tri-party alliance Command Centre on Fort Street, Basseterre.
“Today we have come because the process of our Parliament has been undermined. The electoral system has been adulterated, corrupted, in my view. And this is on the evidence of court hearings especially in Nevis and also in St. Kitts, Amory said.
He stated that the Federal House of Assembly would be meeting next Monday but Members of the Opposition “have not yet seen the Order Paper”.
Amory explained that the Opposition, as the people’s representative, wanted to sensitise members of the press and the citizens of the twin-island Federation what had transpired over the last “18 months or more in our efforts to get a focus on the way in which our Parliament has been abused”.
The Premier also stated that the Opposition believes it is important for them to get the citizens to focus their minds and take a new look at what the country means to them.
He said the people of the Federation should ask themselves what are the institutions they have; what is happening to the Constitution, the Parliament and the education system; and to get a determination of what they want for the future of the country.
“It is important that we do this in the light of this impending House of Assembly meeting which has been called, especially in light of the facts that the Motion of No Confidence, which has been asked to be tabled, has not been heard and has not been debated. And we think this is a fundamental breach of the practice of what our Parliament should be.
“We need to look at the future development of our country with respect of our children. What do we want our children to know and feel about their country? Do we want them to believe or have the view that it is okay to ignore the rule of law, to ignore the Constitution, to ignore what Parliament and how Parliament should be conducted? Or do we want them to get a feel of being proud of being citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis?” he added.
He continued: “What about the effect this is having on our social environment? What effect is it having on the growth in the economy and investment? Things like that which should be attending our discourse and be our priority. For when all is said and done, it is important that, as representatives of our people, we give proper guidance and set policies which would ensure that there is economic growth and development, and that there is a stable society, that the security of our country and our people is prioritised and is foremost in our minds because that is a fundamental prerequisite for economic growth and social development.
“What do we want our young people to say of us as representatives and Parliamentarians? Do we believe that our disregard for our institutions and the provisions of our Constitution and our seeming effort to put the interests of individuals above the interest of the country is what we want our children to look at this period in our history and feel and believe?”
The CCM Leader noted that the questions were asked because the Opposition Members of Parliament wanted to take a new look at what governance must mean to the nation.
“We want our people to begin to take a fresh look at what it means to govern so that there must be transparency in government. That we look at what democracy means to us. Is our democracy under threat? How do we deal with this issue in the light of an impending or call for a House of Assembly meeting on Monday 18th August when there are outstanding matters which must be dealt with if we are to feel comfortable that our democratic process is not being destroyed, undermined to the detriment of the citizens of our country?” Amory stressed.
In addition to sensitising citizens and residents of the Federation on the current situation that exists in Parliament, Amory said the Opposition was using the press conference to “get our people to value the qualities of patriotism and putting our country above ourselves or above party political interests”.