The United Progressive Party has made clear that its confrontation with Senate President Alincia Williams-Grant over the seating of Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle at the Throne Speech is far from resolved, with Senate Minority Leader Chester Hughes pushing back firmly against characterisations of the opposition's walkout.
Speaking on Observer Radio following the May 26 Throne Speech sitting, Hughes told listeners that the opposition senators had not arrived at Parliament that morning with any intention of leaving.
"Today was not a day that any of us left our home with the anticipation of walking out of the Parliament," he said.
Hughes placed responsibility for the disruption squarely on the Senate President, arguing that it was Williams-Grant's decision that introduced confusion into what should have been a straightforward ceremonial occasion. He questioned why Pringle's attendance had been treated as a problem at all, noting that the chamber routinely accommodates Commissioners of Police, judges, and other officials at such events. The question of asking the Leader of the Opposition to leave, he said, should never have arisen.
Hughes framed the walkout not as a challenge to the chair's authority, but as an act of solidarity with their political leader.
"If the oath wasn't going to be administered, then I cannot participate, so it would make no sense for me to stay there," he said.
The walkout occurred after Williams-Grant declined to permit Pringle to be seated for the Throne Speech on the grounds that he had not yet taken the parliamentary oath of allegiance, as required under Section 48 of the Constitution. The four sworn Opposition Senators — Hughes, Jonathan Wehner, Ashworth Azille, and Malaka Parker — left the chamber before Governor-General Sir Rodney Williams delivered the Speech.
Pringle, the Member-elect for All Saints East and St. Luke, missed the first sitting of the House of Representatives on May 18 while accompanying his minor daughter to the United States for a medical procedure. The UPP confirmed his absence in a statement at the time, indicating that he would take the oath at the next ordinary sitting of the Lower House.
Barbuda People's Movement Member of Parliament Trevor Walker was also absent from both the May 18 sitting and the Throne Speech.
Section 48 of the Constitution states that no member of either House may take part in its proceedings until the oath of allegiance has been made and subscribed before that House. The sole exception permits participation in the election of presiding officers before the oath is taken.
In a press release, the UPP alleged that democracy was under threat, characterising the morning's events as collusion between the Senate President and government members of the Lower House.
The next ordinary sitting of the House of Representatives, at which Pringle is expected to take the parliamentary oath, has not yet been publicly confirmed.
