On Friday, June 5th, 2020, Team Unity was re-elected to a second term with an increased majority, winning nine of the 11 parliamentary seats – two more since the previous general election was held on Monday, February 16th, 2015.
Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris said on Sunday, June 7th during the swearing-in ceremony for his second term as Prime Minister that Team Unity’s outstanding success in the general election was “a vindication of our excellent work on behalf of the people and [also a vindication] that our performance really lived up and, indeed, some would say surpassed the promise that we had made.”
Indeed, the Team Unity Government has made remarkable strides in building a stronger, safer country.
Homicides are now at an all-time low; they fell by 60 percent for the first four months of 2020 relative to last year. Overall, major crimes are also down by more than 40 percent. In addition to safer streets, Team Unity has delivered over 3,000 housing solutions, which are bigger and better in quality than the houses built under the former administration.
Moreover, in response to COVID-19, the Team Unity Government rolled out the most comprehensive stimulus package (valued at more than $120 million) in the Caribbean. The Federation was among the first batch of countries in the region to hold persons in quarantine/isolation and restrict entry to travellers from high-risk countries, and it was also among the first to close its borders to non-essential travel. Emergency Powers (COVID-19) Regulations were also introduced to interrupt human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus in St. Kitts and Nevis, and the Federation’s 15 active cases have all made full recoveries.
Prime Minister Harris further noted in Sunday’s inauguration speech that, “We are all honoured and humbled by the faith and confidence, which you have reposed in us. Indeed, for my part, I am particularly humbled by the support of my own constituents who have seen it fit to return me election after election – seven times in a row – and I promise that I will not let you down. I promise the administration, which I will lead, will not let down the people of St. Kitts and Nevis.”
The Prime Minister continued: “Today, the work of building more homes…of creating new jobs and new opportunities for our young people and continuing to keep our people and country safe, today that work begins in earnest.”