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Alexis Zook Jeffers (born 25 November 1968) is a Saint Kitts and Nevis politician with the Concerned Citizens' Movement. He represents the Saint James constituency in the Nevis Island Assembly, and has also stood as a candidate for election to the National Assembly. [1]
Before entering politics, Jeffers worked in a car rental company and founded a swimming pool cleaning company. [1]
In late 2009, Jeffers announced that he would stand for election to represent Nevis #11 District in the January 2010 general election. At the time, he held dual citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis and the United States. [2] Under Article 28 of Saint Kitts and Nevis' 1983 constitution, a person is not qualified for election to the National Assembly "if he is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state". [3] However, whether dual citizens could be nominated was a matter of debate until the passage of the National Assembly Elections Act (2009), which required all candidates for elections to swear at the time of their nomination that they lacked citizenship in any other country. [2] As Saint Kitts and Nevis did not have a United States embassy, Jeffers had to go to Barbados to renounce U.S. citizenship. [2] His renunciation was confirmed by a notice in the U.S.' Federal Register in February 2010. [4] However, he lost the election to Patrice Nisbett of the Nevis Reformation Party, who would go on to become Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs. [5]
Though he lost to Nisbett in the federal election, Jeffers had more success in Nevis Island elections, beating Nesbitt by 37 votes to win the Saint James seat in the Nevis Island Assembly in July 2011. [6] During his second term there, Jeffers spoke out a number of times against alleged irregularities in the elections process. In the first sitting of the new term of the Nevis Island Assembly in October, Jeffers and his fellow CCM members staged a walkout, boycotting parliamentary business for that day. [7] In June 2012, he called for Saint James Registration Officer Clayton Mills to step down, accusing him of political bias with regards to his handling of 108 voters on the electoral rolls in the district, whom the CCM claimed to be wrongfully registered. [8] He also spoke out against fuel surcharges. [9]
Jeffers will face off against Nisbett again in Nevis Island elections in 2012. In his campaign, he attacked Nisbett for the many roles he was playing in government, stating that "no man can serve two masters" and urging him to step down from his position as Attorney-General if he wanted to contest the election. [5]
Jeffers did his early education in Nevis at the St James Primary School, Gingerland Secondary School, and Charlestown Secondary School Sixth Form College. He went on to the United States for tertiary education, where he attended Broward College and then Florida Atlantic University. [1]
Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Nevis is located near the northern end of the Lesser Antilles archipelago, about 350 kilometres (220 mi) east-southeast of Puerto Rico and 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Antigua. Its area is 93 square kilometres (36 sq mi) and the capital is Charlestown.
Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country in the West Indies. Located in the Leeward Islands chain of the Lesser Antilles, it is the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere, in both area and population. The country is a Commonwealth realm, with Elizabeth II as Queen and head of state. It is the only federation in the Caribbean.
Saint Kitts and Nevis have one of the longest written histories in the Caribbean, both islands being among Spain's and England's first colonies in the archipelago. Despite being only two miles apart and quite diminutive in size, Saint Kitts and Nevis were widely recognized as being separate entities with distinct identities until they were forcibly united in the late 19th century.
The politics of Saint Kitts and Nevis takes place in the framework of a federal parliamentary democracy. Saint Kitts and Nevis is an independent Commonwealth realm with Elizabeth II as its head of state, viceregally represented by a Governor-General. He acts on the advice of the prime minister, who is the majority party leader in the National Assembly, and who, with a cabinet, conducts affairs of state.
Saint Kitts, also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Saint Kitts and Nevis are separated by a shallow 3-kilometre (2 mi) channel known as "The Narrows".
Denzil Llewellyn Douglas is the longest-serving Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, in office from 1995 to 2015. Subsequently he has been Leader of the Opposition. He is the leader of the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP).
The Concerned Citizens' Movement is a Nevis-based political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Led by Mark Brantley, the party currently holds three of the eleven seats in the National Assembly.
The People's Action Movement (PAM) is a political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The party currently holds four of the 11 seats in the National Assembly.
Simeon Daniel was the first Premier of Nevis.
General elections were held in Saint Kitts and Nevis on 25 January 2010 for eleven of the fourteen or fifteen seats in the National Assembly. The other three or four members of the National Assembly will be appointed by the Governor-General after the elections.
The Saint Kitts and Nevis Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) representing Saint Kitts and Nevis at the Olympic Games. It is also the body responsible for Saint Kitts and Nevis's representation at the Commonwealth Games. The executive board consists of the president, secretary general, vice president, assistant secretary general, and four members. The president is Alphonso Bridgewater and the secretary general is Glenville Jeffers. The committee has oversaw six Olympic and five Commonwealth Games, winning one gold medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, by Kim Collins in the 100 meters.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the ministry responsible for handling the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis' external relations and its diplomatic missions abroad. The ministry's current director is Minister of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Legal Affairs, Homeland Security and Labour, Patrice Nisbett, who also acts as a member of the Kittitian Parliament.
Shawn Kenneth Richards is a Saint Kitts and Nevis politician.
Lindsay Fitz-Patrick Grant is a Saint Kitts and Nevis politician and lawyer. He served as Leader of the People's Action Movement until his resignation in July 2012.
Patrice Nisbett is the former foreign minister of St. Kitts and Nevis. He was formerly the Attorney General.
The Constitution of Saint Kitts and Nevis was adopted on 23 June 1983 and took effect when the country became independent on 19 September 1983. It consists of 11 chapters and various schedules, which establish the rights, responsibilities and definition of the citizens of the federation. It also provides the form and structure of government, and enumerates the powers of the different branches of government. Its treatment of the island of Nevis is rather unusual among federated nations.
General elections were held in Saint Kitts and Nevis on 16 February 2015. The ruling Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Denzil Douglas, was defeated by Team Unity, an alliance of the Concerned Citizens' Movement, the People's Action Movement, and the People's Labour Party, led by Timothy Harris.
The Attorney General of Saint Kitts and Nevis is the primary legal advisor to the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis. He is an elected or nominated ex-officio member of the National Assembly and member of the cabinet.
Mark Brantley is the Premier of Nevis and the Minister of Foreign Affairs for St Kitts and Nevis. Prior to entering politics, Brantley worked as an attorney.
General elections were held in Saint Kitts and Nevis on Friday 5 June 2020.