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Mark
Brantley
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Concerned Citizens' Movement
Hon. Mark Brantley on Monday's federal election won
his seat to return to parliament as representative of
the people of Nevis for constituency #9. Of the 11 federal
seats, only Nevis 9 recorded an increase in the number
of registered voters for the 2010 elections. Compared
to 2004, the number of voters for that district increased
by about 10%, going from 3,918 to 4295. The total number
of voters in that district accounted for almost 57%
of the 7,552 persons on Nevis that registered to vote
in the 2010 federal election.
Voter registration
for the January 25th election did not only decrease
at a constituency level, overall numbers decreased
by more than 6,000, dropping from 38,865 in 2004 to
this year's 32,746. The increase in the number of
voters in Nevis 9 was a point of contention between
Brantley, party leader former premier Hon. Vance Amory
and election and government officials. Amory had said
that based on the number of registered voters on the
list in Nevis Nine that "there is some aberration
which ought to be addressed". "The preponderance
of registered voters in Nevis Nine, which consists
of the parishes of St. Paul's and St. John's, has
caused some concern and we have to find a way of dealing
with it."
Brantley had informed
that he had written to the Electoral Commission and
Supervisor of Elections Leroy Benjamin Sr. on the
matter but had never received a response. He said
he had also sought the counsel of Prime Minister Dr.
Denzil Douglas, another futile attempt at resolving
the electoral issues. Then Opposition Leader in the
Federal Parliament, Brantley had vehemently opposed
last year's Constituency Boundaries Commission proposed
boundary re-alignments ahead a pending election. However
continuous court proceedings forced an election held
on the existing boundaries.
Final polling results
for Constituency #9 was the second to last announcement
made by Benjamin early Tuesday morning. Brantley was
declared the winner having garnered 1,749 of the 3,350
votes cast. His Nevis Reformation Party opponent Hon.
Hensley Daniel received 1601 votes. Amory also won
a second federal seat for the CCM with Hon. Patrice
Nesbitt picking up Nevis #11 for NRP's sole federal
seat.
During the CCM victory
motorcade on Tuesday, Brantley thanked the people
of St. Pauls and St. Johns for their support. "I
want to say thank you to the people of St. Pauls and
St. Johns, the people of St. Thomas and St. James,
the people of St. George. CCM was fighting against
the Labour Party, a Prime Minister, we were fighting
against the NRP, a Premier ...we bang dem and we gone
bang dem again!"
The exuberant Brantley
said the opposing parties had more money than the
CCM but lacked energy, ideas and commitment, all of
which he said his party brought to the Federation's
political forum. Local elections to determine whether
NRP or CCM will constitute the next Nevis Island Assembly
will be held in 2011.
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