标签： Antigua and Barbuda

A routine opening of a joint parliamentary sitting in Antigua descended into dramatic political confrontation on Tuesday, after Senate President Alincia Williams-Grant ordered Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle to leave the chamber before proceedings could begin, triggering a mass walkout by all opposition lawmakers.

The standoff unfolded within the first minutes of the ceremonial gathering, which brought together members of both the Senate and House of Representatives alongside invited guests. Williams-Grant told the assembled chamber that the question of Pringle’s eligibility had been brought to her attention ahead of the sitting, and she had attempted to reach out to the opposition leader privately to resolve the matter before the formal gathering began.

Despite those outreach efforts, Pringle chose to take his seat and attend the sitting, leaving the Senate President with no option but to issue a formal public ruling. “I’m asking the honourable gentleman to remove himself from this proceedings this morning in this House,” Williams-Grant stated from the chair.

Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin quickly threw his support behind the ruling, grounding the decision in the country’s foundational law. He emphasized that the Antiguan Constitution contains an unambiguous requirement that all parliamentarians must complete the oath of allegiance before they are legally permitted to participate in any parliamentary business. Until that constitutional obligation is fulfilled, Benjamin argued, Pringle could not lawfully take part in the joint sitting.

Pringle responded from the floor, acknowledging that he was familiar with the constitutional language outlining the oath requirement. But he pushed back against the timing of the ruling, arguing that the dispute should have been resolved privately in advance rather than being aired publicly to disrupt the start of the sitting.

Moments after Pringle’s remarks, the entire bloc of opposition lawmakers rose from their seats and walked out of the chamber in a coordinated protest against the ruling. The walkout has amplified already strained political tensions in the country, casting a cloud over the ceremonial joint sitting and delaying its official start as leadership navigated the unexpected fallout.

A routine joint sitting of Antigua and Barbuda’s Parliament was derailed on Tuesday before formal business could even begin, after the nation’s top legislative official ordered the opposition leader out of the chamber for violating a core constitutional requirement.

Senate President Alincia Williams-Grant, the presiding officer for the joint session, made the formal ruling that Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle was ineligible to participate in the day’s proceedings because he had not completed the constitutionally mandated oath of allegiance. The rule, which is enshrined in the country’s governing framework, bars any elected or appointed parliamentary member from taking part in official business until they have sworn their oath of loyalty to the state.

Williams-Grant told assembled lawmakers and invited guests that the oversight was brought to her attention just as she entered the chamber to open the sitting. She added that she had made multiple attempts to flag the issue to Pringle in a private setting ahead of the session’s start, in an effort to avoid a public confrontation.

Despite being notified of the requirement before the sitting convened, Pringle still entered the legislative chamber, leaving Williams-Grant with no option but to issue a public formal ruling from the chair.

“I’m asking the honourable gentleman to remove himself from this proceedings this morning in this House,” she stated during the address, before Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin threw his full support behind the presiding officer’s decision.

Benjamin emphasized to the chamber that the Antiguan Constitution leaves no room for interpretation on the matter, noting the requirement is “particularly clear” that all members of both the Senate and House of Representatives must complete the oath before engaging in any formal parliamentary work. He added that every other member present for the joint sitting had already fulfilled the obligation, and that no member who had not done so could legally participate until the process was finalized.

“Those two Members will not be able to take part in any proceedings in this House… until the oath is overtaken,” Benjamin added, referring to Pringle and the other opposition member who had also not completed the requirement.

Following the ruling, Pringle left the parliamentary building without incident, accompanied by all other opposition senators who withdrew in solidarity with their leader. The disruption pushed back the start of the day’s scheduled business, and Williams-Grant issued a formal apology to everyone present for the delay caused by the constitutional standoff.

At a recent thanksgiving service honoring Jamale Pringle’s re-election, hosted by the All Saints East and St. Luke branch of Antigua and Barbuda’s United Progressive Party (UPP), Senate Minority Leader Chester Hughes delivered a stirring address centered on the constituency’s long legacy of independent political thought. The event marked a key milestone for the UPP, which has faced widespread electoral setbacks across the nation in recent cycles, making Pringle’s retention of the seat all the more meaningful for the opposition party.

Hughes opened his remarks by celebrating the unwavering autonomy of the constituency’s voters, emphasizing that residents have long rejected outside influence and vote-buying attempts. “The people of All Saints East and St. Luke are people who are independent in thought,” Hughes stated. “They will not be bought. They could not be dictated to, and they will not be told who to vote for, when to vote for them and how to vote for them.” He added that the constituency has weathered decades of political pressure, building a robust tradition of opposition representation that stretches back generations.

Delving into the area’s political history, Hughes recalled the 1994 election that saw former MP Charlesworth Samuel win the seat after relocating from St. Mary’s North. Following Samuel’s tenure, Hughes himself stepped in to represent the constituency after an “unfortunate incident” that cut short Samuel’s time in office, and he noted that both leaders prioritized delivering tangible support to local residents throughout their terms. When the UPP lost national power in the 2014 general election, Hughes was reassigned to contest St. Mary’s North, and Joanne Messiah was selected as the UPP’s candidate for All Saints East and St. Luke, opening a new chapter in the constituency’s political landscape.

It was during this transition that Jamale Pringle first emerged as a rising political talent, Hughes recounted. The young hopeful sought to contest the seat in 2014 immediately after Hughes’ reassignment, but Hughes encouraged him to bide his time and work within the party’s established leadership structure. “I said to him, wait your turn. Don’t go against the grain,” Hughes explained. “Allow the leadership to proceed with its course. What is for a man, he will always have it.” Pringle heeded that advice, and when a new candidate was needed for the constituency, Hughes threw his full support behind Pringle, convincing skeptical senior party leaders of the candidate’s potential. Hughes arranged a meeting with key party figures including Wilmer Daniel to make his case, noting that Pringle had been a critical partner in his own electoral and legislative success as the constituency’s representative. Hughes told party leadership that Pringle was the only potential candidate capable of holding the seat for the UPP.

That prediction proved correct in 2018, when Pringle won a narrow 10- to 11-vote victory during one of the UPP’s darkest periods in recent political history. Even as the party faced national losses, Pringle retained the seat, and has continued to advocate fiercely for both his constituents and UPP interests in the lower house of parliament ever since. Now, with Pringle’s successful re-election, Hughes reiterated that the constituency’s voters have once again affirmed their independent political identity, rejecting efforts by rival parties to sway their decision.

Turning to his own recent return to the Senate, Hughes shared that he initially approached the role with “mixed emotions,” uncertain how his tenure would unfold. But widespread encouragement from supporters across Antigua and Barbuda pushed him to step into a more aggressive opposition leadership role. “A number of persons have met me and said, ‘We want you to put fire in the Senate. We want you to do what has never been done before,’” he said.

Hugings closed by pledging that the UPP’s four senators would stand in full solidarity with Pringle, working to advance core democratic values and ensure that ordinary citizens can follow and understand all legislation debated in parliament. “Brother Pringle may be the only seat in the lower house, but there are four seats in the upper house that will fight … to ensure that our democracy is upheld,” he said, ending by thanking God for the wisdom All Saints East and St. Luke voters demonstrated in re-electing Pringle.

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has announced that the government will implement rigorous eligibility regulations for its ambitious $1 land initiative on the island of Barbuda, restricting access largely to individuals who maintained residency on the island around the arrival of Hurricane Irma in 2017. In an address delivered to local radio station Pointe FM this past Saturday, Browne outlined that the strict parameters are a proactive measure designed to block opportunistic exploitation of the program by non-residents seeking to secure discounted land parcels without historical ties to the community.

“We have to put the parameters in place in terms of who may be eligible,” Browne emphasized during the interview. The priority of this special land scheme, he explained, is to serve communities that weathered Hurricane Irma and remained on the island in the years following the catastrophic storm that leveled large swathes of Barbuda in September 2017. Eligible participants will be drawn from the population that has continuously resided in Barbuda from the date of the hurricane through the present day, Browne clarified.

Under the terms of the proposed initiative, qualifying residents can acquire plots of land up to one acre in size for a token $1 fee. The program is integrated into a larger government project to overhaul land governance in Barbuda, which includes rolling out formalized land registration and dividing communal land into individual titled parcels across targeted zones like Louis Hill.

Browne made clear that the benefit will not be automatically extended to people of Barbudan descent who live outside the country, nor to outsiders who attempt to leverage distant family connections to qualify for the discounted land. “We’re not catering for people who weren’t even born in Barbuda for that matter, but may have been born to Barbudan parentage thinking that they can get a land for one dollar,” Browne stated, adding, “This is for those who are resident in Barbuda.”

The Prime Minister did note that the eligibility window remains open to naturalized Antiguans and Barbudans, provided they meet the outlined residency requirements. He further explained that the overarching goal of the initiative is to economically and legally empower local residents by granting them formal legal title to their land, while preserving existing occupancy arrangements for any community members who oppose the transition to freehold ownership.

On a somber Friday evening, hundreds of political allies, family members, and loved ones gathered under flickering candlelight to celebrate the life and legacy of Mary-Clare Hurst, a former state minister and lifelong devotee of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP). In a moving address to the assembled crowd, Prime Minister Gaston Browne delivered a heartfelt tribute to the figure affectionately known to the community as “Tanty.”

Opening his remarks, Browne acknowledged the mixed mood of the memorial, noting that while the gathering was marked by deep grief over the loss of a beloved public servant, it was also a moment to give thanks for Hurst’s decades of unwavering contribution to the nation and the ABLP. “We are gathered here this evening, with heavy hearts and profound sadness, but also with profound gratitude as we pay tribute to our fallen comrade,” Browne told the assembly.

Browne remembered Hurst as a rock for the Labour movement, one whose loyalty never wavered across more than half a century of political engagement. He described her as a leader defined by unshakable conviction and quiet courage, who consistently showed up for the party and its values through every shift in the political landscape. The prime minister reflected on his own decades-long political partnership with Hurst, recalling the critical support she offered during the party’s 2005 leadership convention and other moments that tested the ABLP’s resilience.

He specifically highlighted Hurst’s steadfastness in challenging political seasons, including the period after the 2023 general election, when uncertainty put party unity to the test. “True comrades reveal themselves during difficult periods,” Browne told the crowd of mourners. “Comrade Mary-Clare Hurst stood firm.”

Throughout the evening, attendees passed along personal stories and warm memories of Hurst, joining in collective prayer to honor her decades of public service to Antigua and Barbuda. The vigil closed with a final round of tributes, as attendees reaffirmed the lasting impact of her legacy of loyalty, dedication, and service to the country she served.