New Parliament begins Tuesday. First sitting, Thursday

The next parliament of St Kitts and Nevis National Assembly begins Tuesday.

The traditional opening ceremony is set for the St. Kitts Marriott Resort Royal Ballroom in Frigate Bay, while the first Sitting will be on Thursday, 10:00 am at the National Assembly Chamber, Government Headquarters, Basseterre.
 A statement from the Prime Minister’s office said a Guard of Honour at 9:30 am will precede the Sitting.
 The Governor-General will read the Proclamation Summoning the New Session of the National Assembly in keeping with Basseterre’s constitutional tradition. The election of the new Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of the House will follow the Governor General’s speech to legislators.  

The press release from the PM’s office explained Deputy Governor General, Marcella Liburd, will deliver the Throne Speech following the administering of the Oath/Affirmation of Allegiance by Members of the new parliament.
 When he met with the press for the first time since winning the August 05 polls, Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew hinted a female will most likely be the new Speaker of the House.

The choice of a woman, PM Drew said, is part of a wider St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) policy of gender-equity promotion by the new administration.

The SKNLP promised more women and youth in decision-making positions if the party triumphed at the polls, and Drew is actively honouring the covenant his party brokered with the twin-island Federation.

So far, his two-month-old government has three women in the Cabinet, a first for the 39-year-old CARICOM state.

 “We understand that gender equality is essential for economic prosperity. You can look forward to equal involvement in our government system. As a matter of fact, there is a high possibility that we will have a female Speaker of the House and there is also the prospect of our first female Governor-General,” Drew said.
SKNLP has six elected representatives in the legislature, the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), three, and the People’s Action Movement (PAM) and the People’s Labour Party (PLP) with one each.
CCM Leader, Mark Brantley will be Leader of the Opposition.

ZIZ Radio and ZIZ TV will have live broadcast of Tuesday’s opening ceremony via their Facebook and YouTube platforms of the St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service (SKNIS) and ZIZ.