Tuesday has been declared a public holiday in Basseterre. As a result of the ruling St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) being returned to power in Monday’s general election with a slightly reduced majority in an election Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas described as one “of the most crucial” in the history of the twin island Federation.

Preliminary figures released by the Electoral Office show that that the SKNLP, had won six seats on St. Kitts as compared to the seven seats it won in the 2004 general election.

Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas, who won a fourth consecutive term in office, comfortably won his seat in Constituency Six, defeating his challenger, Junie Hodge by a margin of 1,905 votes to 179.

The main opposition People’s Action Movement (PAM) increased its seats in the Parliament from one to two, after Eugene Hamilton won the St. Christopher 8 constituency from the incumbent Cedric Roy Liburd, the Minister of Housing, Agriculture, Fisheries, and Consumer Affairs, who was seeking a fourth consecutive victory.

The other victory for the PAM came through deputy leader, Shawn Richards, who polled 1,128 votes in defeating Dr. Norgen Wilson of the SKNLP, who received 985 votes.

, narrowly lost the St. Christopher Four seat by 29 votes, polling 1,156 as compared to 1,185 votes received by Glen Fitzroy Phillip of the ruling party.

Both the SKNLP and PAM contested the eight seats that were up for grabs in the election on St. Kitts.

On the island of Nevis, where three seats were at stake, the maintained its identical record of 2004, when it won two seats to the one received by the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP).

Addressing thousands of jubilant supporters in the capital on Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Douglas said he was thankful to the population for putting its trust in his administration.

“I want to thank you…I will continue to serve you,” he said over loud cheers and whistles from the supporters who waited for more than 12 hours after the polling stations were closed to be informed of the victory.

“It (the election) is probably the most crucial election we might have in this country and you have done the right thing,” he said, adding “thanks again to the people of this country”.

The campaign for the elections had been one of the most intense in recent history with reports of violence emanating from both camps and Dr. Douglas told the rally that “so far it has been excellent nobody has gone to war”.

He urged the population to “…respect the choice of the people and let the country settle down,” adding “…let us begin today the healing process”.

Douglas said he was particularly proud of the role played by the young people in the campaign of his party, noting “you gave us the energy”.