The first formal sitting of Antigua and Barbuda’s newly elected Parliament descended into political friction on Monday, after Attorney General Stedroy Benjamin launched sharp criticism of the entire opposition bloc for its unexplained and strategically timed absence from the opening session. Benjamin’s rebuke came minutes before the House adjourned, wrapping up a day that centered on the official swearing-in of all newly elected members of parliament.
Addressing the empty opposition benches, Benjamin openly questioned the credibility of the excuses tendered for the no-shows, drawing a direct line between the boycott and the opposition’s weak standing following the April 2026 general election. “It seems that there will be no speeches from the other side,” Benjamin told the chamber. “They have disappeared as they did disappear the last elections.”
He argued that the collective absence of opposition representatives validates the choice that voters made at the ballot box earlier that year. “They made the right decision,” he said of the electorate. “They don’t appear. They don’t work. As a matter of fact, they are a disunited bunch of people.”
Prior to Benjamin’s remarks, newly re-elected Speaker Osbert Frederick read out formal apologies from three absent opposition lawmakers: the representative for All Saints East and St. Luke, the lawmaker for Barbuda, and the member for St. Philip’s South, who cited an unspecified personal emergency for his absence. Other absent members cited illness and pre-planned international travel as justifications for missing the historic sitting.
Benjamin pushed back against these explanations, calling the timing of the supposed disruptions highly suspicious. “Isn’t that passing strange, that today, of all days in Parliament history, some sort of excuses be made — people being sick, traveling,” he said.
Despite the opposition boycott, Benjamin emphasized that the governing administration would move forward with its policy agenda without delay, framing the government’s work as a commitment to delivering widespread prosperity for Antigua and Barbuda under the administration’s signature “Renaissance” development plan. “This wagon train over here will continue to function,” he said. “We are here to make certain that the people of Antigua and Barbuda benefit from the Renaissance.”
Monday’s sitting formally marked the launch of the new legislative term. In addition to the swearing-in of elected MPs, the session saw Osbert Frederick retain his position as Speaker of the House, while Philmore Benjamin was confirmed as Deputy Speaker in a formal vote held during the sitting.