In a formal ceremony held at Government House this Monday, veteran legislator Malaka Parker took the oaths of office, allegiance and secrecy to begin her new term as an opposition member of the Senate of Antigua and Barbuda, immediately calling on majority government senators to honor the upper chamber’s core mandate of legislative revision, scrutiny and executive accountability.
Deputy Governor General Sir Clare Roberts officiated the swearing-in, which was attended by a crowd of United Progressive Party supporters, labor union leaders, and Parker’s close family and friends. This marks a return to parliamentary service for Parker, who previously held a government-aligned Senate seat from 2009 to 2014, a tenure that has shaped her perspective on the upper house’s institutional role.
In her first public remarks after taking office, Parker emphasized that government senators, who hold a majority in the chamber, carry the primary responsibility for upholding the Senate’s foundational purpose. “What I’m asking in this moment is for the government senators to function in the true spirit of what that chamber is supposed to represent,” Parker stated. “Who are in the majority and it is they who should really lead this idea of revision, of scrutiny, of holding the lower house to some level of accountability.”
Reflecting on her return to the parliamentary halls, Parker framed her new appointment as both a humbling honor and a weighty public trust. “I remain humble, and it is an awesome, awesome responsibility to stand in the halls of Parliament,” Parker said. “I treat it with reverence. I treat it with respect.” She committed to serving the people of Antigua and Barbuda conscientiously throughout her upcoming term, joining fellow opposition senators Chester Hughes, Jonathan Wenner and Ashworth Azille on the opposition bench.
Offering guidance ahead of Parker’s tenure, Sir Clare urged the newly sworn senator to anchor her work in core ethical values: “integrity, discipline, diligence, humility and a sincere desire to contribute positively to the development of Antigua and Barbuda and its people.” The appointment fills the latest opposition seat in the Senate, reshaping the body’s opposition caucus ahead of upcoming legislative work.