BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC) — Opposition Leader Dr Denzil Douglas is calling for a debate with Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris ahead of the June 5 General Election.

Today is Nomination Day for the June 5 poll.

“Please facilitate a debate between myself and Prime Minister Harris. Please, I want you to organise that. Organise it,” Douglas said during an appearance on the Inside the News programme of the WINNFM radio station.

The programme is hosted by the chairman of the board of directors of the radio station, Garth Wilkin, who has promised to write a letter to both politicians “to see if we can facilitate it”.

During his appearance on the programme, Douglas, who is leading the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) into the general election, urged listeners to reject the Team Unity Administration headed by Harris.

Douglas, a former prime minister, who lost the last general election in 2015, said: “There was a serious character assassination on me during the last elections,” and was now asking supporters of the People’s Action Movement (PAM) and the People’s Labour Party (PLP) that came together to form the coalition whether or not they are better off under the present Administration.

Douglas said that since leaving office in 2015 “every bank account has been searched thoroughly.

“What have they found? Nothing. Every property that I bought was through the bank. I still have mortgages on my properties right now. People trust Douglas. Douglas has not been perfect, but Douglas is not a scamp. He is not a scamp. Douglas is a trustworthy man,” he told radio listeners.

The campaign for the general election has been severely affected by the measures put in place to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus and the Opposition SKNLP has called on the Government to remove the state of emergency and curfew that exist.

The party said it has been conducting most of its campaign using the Internet.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Harris has said that his Administration has brought social and economic stability to the twin-island federation..

Speaking during a virtual meeting of Team Unity, Prime Minister Harris said, “The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank said that by 2030, its wish is that member states would achieve a debt-to-GDP ratio of 60 per cent. St Kitts and Nevis, 12 years ahead of that [2030 target date], reached a debt-to-GDP ratio of 59 per cent, and now today we are at 55 per cent because we have managed the resources of our country well.

“We have not over the last five years introduced one single tax yet our finances are the best of any Government around the world,” he added.