St Kitts and Nevis elects new leader in snap elections

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The eastern Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis has elected a new prime minister after holding snap elections three years earlier than planned.

Dr. Terrance Drew of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labor Party ousted Prime Minister Timothy Harris of the People’s Labor Party, according to preliminary election results released Saturday.

Harris first became prime minister in February 2015 and served a second term after Team Unity, a three-party alliance, won nine of Parliament’s 11 seats in the 2020 elections. But Harris lost a no confidence motion filed by his coalition partners earlier this year, prompting the twin-island nation to hold general elections Friday.

Six political parties fielded a total of more than 30 candidates vying for 11 of Parliament’s 15 seats. Drew’s party captured six seats, while Harris’s won one. The island’s governor general will appoint people to the remaining four seats after the election.

Drew’s party promised improved health care, affordable housing and more access to education. Harris’s party pledged to build a stronger economy, create more jobs and further reduce poverty, among other things.